


the stars between us - sheith big bang 2017

by Meteorysh, volleycatnika



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Evil Alteans, M/M, Sheith Big Bang 2017, TSBU, TSBU Verse, good galra, reverse-verse, the stars between us, tsbu au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-22 08:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11963631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meteorysh/pseuds/Meteorysh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleycatnika/pseuds/volleycatnika
Summary: One minute he is in his lion, and the next...He is floating in darkness. It’s cold, much like the mindscape where he fought Zarkon for the Black Lion’s connection, but that’s all they have in common. The rest of it is different. Very different.IN OTHER WORDS:A Reverse Voltron AU where the Alteans (and Voltron) are evil and the Galra are good. The fic starts at the end of season two.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Meteorysh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meteorysh/gifts).



> This fic wouldn't be here if it weren't for the love and support from my fellow creators in the Sheith BB, my betas catpoop from ao3 and armedarchaeologist from tumblr and a beta who's name I can't remeber. Also thanks to my friend Mebuki who created some amazing artwork for this fic!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Managed to find my third beta's discord name -> it's melon#8366!

1

 

Shiro hadn’t planned on leaving, but he’d sensed something would happen.

 

He hadn’t sensed this. 

 

One minute he is in his lion, and the next - he is floating in darkness. It’s cold, much like the mindscape where he fought Zarkon for the Black Lion’s connection, but that’s all they have in common. The rest of it is different.  _ Very  _ different. This space feels far more realistic, not like a dream or a nightmare.

 

This space feels like _ real  _ space. After a few agonizing moments of blinking and squinting, Shiro realizes it is. He’s floating amongst the stars. The only signs of life, friendly or otherwise, are battlecruisers blown to bits. 

 

How did he end up outside Black? How did he end up here, away from Voltron? How did he end up floating in space, God knows how far from his friends? 

 

With a heavy sigh, Shiro focuses on clearing his mind. He should save his questions for later. He needs solid ground and a means of contacting his fellow paladins. The radio is no use— it has been emitting annoying static in his ears for the past ten minutes.  

 

Using his jetpack, he manages to land on a large chunk of battlecruiser. It’s more intact than most. It also looks quite familiar… The overall setup is quite similar to that of the Voltron lions. There are two levers that are placed about a shoulder width apart and two large windows which are shaped like the eyes of a cat. A vast array of purple lights illuminate the cockpit, which seem to do more harm than good. Even though the lights illuminate the cockpit, they make it feel darker. Most importantly, there is the bayard socket. The similarities surprise Shiro, especially since the battlecruisers are various shades of Galra purple. Why would a Galra ship have a bayard socket?

 

Taking a seat in the cockpit, Shiro lets his gaze wander. The battlecruiser seems to be in fairly good shape, ignoring the fact that it is no longer fight-worthy. With the lights still glowing, indicating that the ship still has power, Shiro pushes a few buttons and pulls a few levers. The ship refuses to budge.

 

It isn’t until Shiro has the ship's systems running that he realizes something. There was no body in this battlecruiser, and no blood. He could just shrug it off—perhaps the battlecruiser was controlled by an AI—but there is a pilot seat.  _ There is a pilot seat for a reason.  _

 

Before Shiro can decide whether or not to leave the battlecruiser, he hears the sound of a blaster charging. Slowly turning around, Shiro is relieved to find that the Galra before him is a member of the Blade of Marmora. And it is not just any member… Taking in the unique details of the suit, Shiro softly asks, “Ulaz? Is that you? How are you here? I thought you were dead.” 

 

Ulaz, who lowers his blaster ever so slightly, seems as surprised as Shiro. “Champion? I thought you were…” Quickly closing the distance between them, he pokes Shiro a few times with his blaster. Emitting a sigh of relief, Ulaz says, “You’re really here. You’re really  _ you _ . I can’t believe it! How did you...?” Ulaz lets his voice trail off once more before he sets his blaster down to make repairs to the battlecruiser. “I suppose I should save my questions for later. We need to get out of here. It isn’t safe. They could come back. They will return, for sure, if they find out you are here.”

 

“They? Who are you talking about?” Shiro asks. Ulaz suddenly drops the two wires he had been connecting.

 

“You should know who they are,” Ulaz responds, sounding surprisingly sad. “That is, you should, unless they erased your memories. Or perhaps they altered them...” Ulaz, who has been studying his face, reluctantly returns his gaze to the wires. “Don’t worry, once we get to headquarters we’ll find out what happened to you. We’ll find out what happened  _ and _ fix it.”

 

His words only add to Shiro’s confusion and unease. “Do you really think my memories have been altered? I hate to admit it, but it would make sense. I don’t know how I ended up out here. One minute I was in my lion, and the next I was floating in space.”

 

Ulaz fiddles with more wires and pulls a couple of levers before responding. “Your lion? Oh they must have altered your memories quite a bit. You might have thought it was your lion, but it is really  _ hers _ . She was just using you as a puppet because she is incapable of forming a bond with the lions herself.”

 

Shiro feels like a broken record. “She? Who are you talking about?” 

 

At this, Ulaz emits a heavy sigh. “I don’t think I should say. If I were to tell you while your memories are still altered, you won’t believe me. If anything, you’d get mad at me.” Letting his voice lower an octave, he adds, “You may even kill me.” 

 

“Me, kill you?” Shiro asks, now more confused than he has ever felt in his entire life. “Why would I kill you? You saved my life. You saved me from the Galra. You know, the evil ones. Not the ones like you.” 

 

“That’s the problem,” Ulaz says, all the while reaching for his blaster. Once he grabs hold of it, he doesn’t point it at Shiro. However, he charges it so he can fire a shot at a moment’s notice. “I didn’t save you from the Galra. Don’t misinterpret my words, I did save you from a most certain death. However, those who held you captive were not Galra. They may have looked Galra, but they weren’t. Take it from someone who is actually Galra.”

 

“Then what were they? They looked like Galra to me,” Shiro hisses in response, confusion turning into annoyance. 

 

“I’m in no place to tell you who they are. However, I know someone who is. Actually, I know two.” Unlike Shiro, Ulaz’s voice only carries a hint of sharpness. “Please save your questions for them.” 

 

“Okay,” Shiro says reluctantly.

 

Just seconds later, the two of them take off in a repaired, but barely flight-worthy ship. Then, they are flying through an area of space Shiro finds familiar. Upon spotting two black holes situated near a blue star, Shiro realizes the area isn’t just familiar. It is identical to an area he’s seen before… It’s where the base of the Blade of Marmora is located.


	2. Chapter 2

2

 

“You know, flying along the path to the Blade of Marmora headquarters isn’t a very pleasant experience. Especially since I’ve flown through here before,” Shiro remarks.

 

“You’ve been here before? Who led you here? This base is a secret…” Ulaz responds. Shiro can hear bewilderment in his shaking voice. 

 

“You gave me the coordinates, remember? The coordinates were in my arm. I used them after you died. Or rather, after I thought you died.”

 

“I think you should stop talking. Or, at the very least, save your words for the two people I mentioned. They are likely the only ones that will be able to understand what you are trying to say. One of the two is the only creature alive capable of fixing the alterations that have been made to your memories.” 

 

Unsure of how to respond to that, Shiro stays silent. He remains silent as they exit the ship and enter the base. The base is a lot like what he remembers… Lights frame each room, making the base seem larger than it actually is. This, paired with an odd lack of furniture, makes the base feel cold and unfriendly. Finding himself too unnerved to make smalltalk, Shiro continues to remain silent until they are able to gain an audience with the two people Ulaz mentioned earlier. 

 

The two figures Ulaz has him stand before share similarities in the way they dress, with them wearing nearly identical suits. The suits consists of what seems to be the Galra’s favorite colors- shades of black accented by purple and gray. However, the way they dress is the only similarity they share, with one being significantly taller than the other. 

 

“You brought the traitor here. You better have an explanation for this, Ulaz,” the taller of the two hisses, voice warped through the mask. 

 

“I found him floating in space,” Ulaz responds, seemingly unfazed by the taller figure’s hiss. “Upon speaking to him, it became evident that his memories were altered. Additionally, he has been mentioning things that make no sense.”

 

“I suppose I’ll have to have a look, then,” the shorter figure says. 

 

Even though the shorter figure is disguised, Shiro recognizes her hunched figure. He recognizes the searing hot feeling of Haggar’s magic that slithers in his direction. It only stops when someone shouts. 

 

“You will not do anything until he has proven himself!” The taller figure shouts. They curl their hands into tight fists as they speak. “He will go through the trials. If he does not go through the trials, he will be killed.”

 

“He is in no state to participate in those,” Ulaz exclaims. “In his current state, the trials could kill him!” 

 

“Possible death or certain death. Knowledge or death. What will it be,  _ traitor _ ?” The taller figure snarls, their left hand now touching the handle of their weapon.

 

“I will participate,” Shiro responds immediately, surprising everyone, including himself, with his lack of hesitation. “I want knowledge. Why do you call me a traitor? The only traitor I see here is you, allowing this evil Druid,” Shiro motions to Haggar, “to enter this base.”

 

“How dare you call me a traitor, you  _ murderer _ .” The taller figure’s dog-like growling makes it difficult for Shiro to understand what they are saying. “Have Ulaz prepare you for the trials and get out of my sight.”

 

Before Shiro can respond, Ulaz utters a “thank you” before grabbing hold of Shiro’s human arm and dragging him out of the room. It is only after they are halfway down the main hallway that Ulaz lets go of his arm. “What are you doing, aggravating Ignis? You of all people should know that he gets easily irritated.”

 

“Ignis?” Shiro responds, having to mentally count to ten in order to stop himself from taking out his anger on Ulaz. “I don't know anyone named Ignis. What kind of alien names their child Ignis? Ignis is a Latin word root.... How would an alien know a Latin root word? Most importantly, why is Haggar here?”

 

Much to Shiro’s surprise, Ulaz merely gives him a sad look. “I will try my best to get Ignis to change his mind. You are clearly not fit to participate in the trials. In case I am unable to convince him, good luck.” 

 

Ulaz leaves him alone in a large, barren room. To call it a room is a bit of a stretch. The “room” is more like an arena… It reminds Shiro of his time spent as prisoner of the Galra. Shiro shivers as he struggles to remain calm.  _ This place is different, _ Shiro tells himself.  _ Here, they gave me a choice. Or did they? They didn’t seem too fond of letting me go if I wanted to decided to leave... _

 

“Shiro!” A voice shouts, interrupting Shiro’s train of thought. It isn’t just any voice. It’s Keith’s voice. “Where are you, Shiro?” 

 

Shiro hastily stands up. Slowly spinning where he stands, he looks for a sign of his friend in the empty room. Luckily, he doesn’t have to look for long—popping up through a hole in a floor is a body.

 

Keith doesn’t try to move. Shiro can understand why Keith doesn’t dare to, or rather, why he is unable to. His paladin armor, which is normally white and red, is now mostly red. Blood seeps from multiple cuts on Keith’s body. However, one stands out the most: one that matches Shiro’s scar across his nose. 

 

“Help me, Shiro.”

 

Shiro runs to him and he falls to his knees. Immediately attempting to rip his own suit to use it to stop Keith’s bleeding. Shiro emits a snarl of frustration when his suit refuses to rip. Settling for using his hands to stop the bleeding of the largest cut, Shiro struggles to maintain his composure. “Everything is going to be okay, Keith. I’ll get you out of here. We’ll be back on the ship with the rest of Voltron in no time.”

 

“You have to save yourself first,” Keith whispers in response. As he whispers, Keith presses his hands over a cut that is oozing blood at an alarming rate. Despite his pressing, blood seeps from between his fingers.

 

Before Shiro can respond, the floor opens up and swallows Keith, replacing him with another Shiro. 

 

Clad in tattered clothes, the other Shiro snarls at him, flashing sharp teeth. “You’re dead, weakling.” With a bright flash of yellow, he lunges. Shiro dodges to no avail -a hand grabbing his ankle. Before Shiro can free himself, he’s flying across the room. Hitting a wall with a loud thud, Shiro falls to the ground. Ignoring his body’s aching protests, Shiro scrambles to his feet.

 

“Look at you squirm,” his copy sneers, meanwhile giving him a predatory look. “You’re a shell of who you use to be.”

 

As feelings of resentment build up inside him, Shiro activates his Galra arm. He lunges at his other self. When his lunge earns him a laugh, Shiro realizes he made a mistake.

 

His mistake has painful consequences. Metal finger-tips drag across his side, digging into his skin like the claws of a feral animal. Shiro is unable to suppress a scream.

 

Once the scream is out of his system, he tries to calm himself down. Such a thing is hard to do while he is bleeding - while he knows that Keith’s life depends on him defeating his copy. Although tempted to go on the defensive, Shiro plows ahead - trapping him against a wall. Once trapped, Shiro pounds his face in.

 

His copy bends, but doesn’t break. It isn’t until his copy twitches and emits sparks before falling to the ground that Shiro realizes his copy isn’t human, but a robot. 

 

Relieved to know that an evil version of him doesn’t exist, Shiro breathes a sigh of relief. That is, he feels relieved until he remembers Keith. “Where’s Keith?” He shouts, his voice echoing within the room. “Let me see Keith!” 

 

The entranceway opens and Ignis steps through. His mere presence pisses Shiro off. 

“I can’t believe you called me a traitor! You hurt Keith and befriended Haggar. You’re the only traitor here.” Shiro presses one of his hands to his wound before continuing. “Let me see him, now!”

 

“I can’t let you see him. Not like this,” Ignis says. 

 

Before Shiro can respond, Ignis knocks him out with a hard blow to the head. 


	3. Chapter 3

3

 

Shiro can’t properly see or move. However, he can hear.

 

“He has many memories. A large number of them involve you,” a raspy voice remarks. Such a unique voice could only belong to Haggar. “Although most of them take place in space, some take place on Earth. You’ve never been to Earth, correct?” 

 

“Correct,” a familiar voice confirms. Shiro can’t describe the happiness he feels upon hearing Keith speak.  _ He’s alive. He’s okay.  _ “Any signs of alteration?” 

 

“None so far,” Haggar replies. She lets a moment of silence pass before saying more. “If his memories haven’t been altered, then there’s only one other thing that could explain this.... He could be from a different reality. Slav was researching alternate realities before he died. You might be able to find his notes in the archives.”

 

“If you keep looking, I’ll do some looking of my own,” is Keith’s short response. His voice sounds strained. 

 

“Before you go,” Haggar says, just as Keith’s footsteps start to become more quiet, “What do you want me to do with him after I’m done looking?”

 

“That depends on what you find,” Keith replies. Now his voice just sounds hollow. “If he is from this reality, kill him. If he is from a different reality, heal him and put him in a cell.”

 

“As you wish, Ignis,” Haggar responds in a soft voice. Shiro never expected Haggar to speak so softly. And he especially didn’t expect her to call Keith Ignis. Why would she call him Ignis? Did Keith change his name? Haggar remains quiet until Keith leaves the room. “You’re awake, aren’t you? I can tell. Tell me more about yourself. Or rather, show me. Make sure to show me the most important memories. You’re life depends on it.”

 

As much as Shiro hates the idea of obeying Haggar, he does. After all, in this unusual situation, he doesn’t have a choice.  

 

_ “You aren’t supposed to use flight simulators after seven,” Shiro informs a cadet who, with a water bottle and a half-eaten granola bar, appears to have been in the flight simulator for quite a while.  _

 

_ “You can’t improve your skills without practice,” the cadet replies, eyes never leaving the screen before him and hands never leaving the controls. “You don’t sound like the rest of the officers. Are you an officer? An older student? I’m sure you have something better to do than discipline a lowly cadet like me.” _

 

_ “You’re right. I have better things to do than discipline you.” At this, the cadet flinches in surprise, but otherwise maintain his composure. “It’s my job to look out for the health and safety of myself and others. Right now, you should be sleeping.”         _

 

_ “So should you,” the cadet responds with a snort. “Maybe you’re like the rest… So far you’ve contradicted yourself just like the other officers. You’ve also spouted off the infamous ‘for my safety and yours’ bullshit.”  _

 

_ Shiro can’t help but laugh. “I didn’t say that exact line, but I get what you mean.” He clears his throating before saying more. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you beat me in the flight simulator, I won’t nag you for being in here. However, if I win, you’ll stop practicing when I tell you to catch some sleep.” _

 

_ “Deal.”      _

 

Haggar speaks suddenly, making the memory slip out of Shiro’s grasp. “Not that your relationship with Ignis, or as you know him, Keith, isn’t important, but show me something else. Could you show me how you ended up in space? Could you show me how you lost your arm?” She says. Her voice is, surprisingly, filled with warmth. Who knew that a villain could be so kind? Then again, he overheard her say something about multiple realities… Maybe he really is in a different reality. 

 

“Focus,” Haggar urges him.   

 

_ “Is that… a spaceship?” Matt shouts as a large shadow envelops them in darkness.  _

 

_ “Who cares what it is?” is Shiro’s automatic response. “It doesn’t look very welcoming.” A few loud blasts echo within the air, missing them but colliding with the surface of the moon. The blasts, which look like pure light, are surprisingly strong and make pieces of the pale moon break off and float in the air.  _

 

_ “I don’t think we can outrun it,” Sam shouts, “however, if we can get back to our ship, we might stand a chance!” _

 

“I hate to sound insensitive, but please skip ahead. It is obvious your plan didn’t work,” Haggar says, being careful to keep her voice soft and soothing. “I know this must be hard for you, but we don’t have a choice.” 

 

_ “It’s kill or be killed, human,” a guard informs him, all the while dragging a kicking and screaming Shiro down a hallway. “Be thankful for the fact that you are getting a weapon. Most are forced to fight with their bare hands. We’d do the same for you, but then the fight would be boring. You’d die within minutes.”  _

 

_ Shiro doesn’t want to participate in whatever event the guard is hinting at. Shiro doesn’t want to meet his opponent. He doesn’t want to be here. He wants to escape. He  _ needs _ to escape. But how? The guards lift him and beat him with little to no effort. Many of his fellow prisoners are too scared to do anything to help themselves, much less him. _

 

_ Suddenly, he is thrown into an arena. Landing just seconds after him with a loud clatter, is a curved, sword-like weapon. “Kill or be killed,” the guard reminds him before closing the door with a loud hiss. A few churning sounds make it clear that multiple locks have slid into place.   _

 

“Don’t show me the killing. All I see is killing. I’m sick of seeing it,” Haggar says. He is thankful for her words, which lead his thoughts away from the arena. Memories of the arena are vivid and violent… They wreak havoc in Shiro’s thoughts and emotions. “How did you lose your arm?”

 

_ Blood is everywhere. On him, on the ground… His arm is on the ground. His arm is no longer on his body. _

 

“Who replaced your arm?” The current Haggar’s voice melds with that of the one of his memory. 

 

_ “You’ll be our strongest weapon yet.” She grins at him a like a coyote would grin at its future meal. _

 

_ Pain.  _

_ Cold metal.  _

_ Thousands of needles puncturing his skin.  _

_ Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. _

 

“I hate to push you further, but I need to see how you escaped. I need to see how you met your fellow paladins…” 

 

Shiro attempts to show her one thing at a time. He attempts to give her as much detail as possible, but he is too tired. His memories shift from one to another. His memories fly by, with each one becoming blurrier than the previous. 

 

“All right, I think I understand. Rest for now,” Haggar says quietly before gently tapping his forehead. Shiro isn’t sure if she’s using magic or if it’s a coincidence, but he falls asleep immediately. 


	4. Chapter 4

4      

 

Shiro isn’t surprised to wake up in a cell. However, he is surprised to find himself lying on a bed.  _ The cell has a bed _ . The Galra prison that he had been in had no beds. They didn’t even have pillows or blankets. Prisoners would have to lie on the floor. They would have to lie much closer than any of them cared to in order stay warm. It was strange to be partially cuddling with an alien one night, knowing that the next day you could be fighting them.  _ You could be killing them. _

 

“You’re awake!” An unfamiliar voice shouts, making Shiro jump. Shiro finds himself face to face with one of the least threatening Galra he has ever seen. The Galra is short and stout. His face, unlike his fellow members of the Blade of Marmora, isn’t hidden by a mask. Similarly, he isn’t wearing the usual black and purple skin tight suit. Instead he is wearing an ensemble that is a fashion disaster… a fashion disaster that looks strangely like the uniform of a mall cop. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

 

“It’s fine,” Shiro replies, running a weary hand through his hair. Just what is the meaning of this? If they’re assigning someone like this to be his guard, is the cell really necessary? With someone like this Galra, Shiro could escape. Well, he could escape if he wanted to. Shiro doesn’t want to leave. He wants to talk to Ignis… Or Keith. Why did Keith change his name to Ignis? Shiro also wants to learn more about this alternate reality he is currently in. Is there a way for him to leave? Or is he stuck here forever?

 

After an awkward moment of silence, the Galra speaks again. “I’m Varkon, and I’m going to be your guard. The only way you can leave this cell is if I go with you. I have to go with you everywhere. Well, everywhere except the bathroom. Me going into the bathroom with you would be crossing too much.” Shiro is tempted to laugh. Varkon, whose name is suspiciously similar to Zarkon, is nothing like Zarkon. Not only does he lack intimidation but he is polite and, well… quite likeable. “I hate to order you about, but you gotta come out. You’re gonna get a history lesson”

 

“History lesson? What about?” Shiro asks, despite already knowing the answer. 

 

“The history of this reality, of course. Haggar and Ignis compared their findings and have confirmed that you are from an alternate reality. For simplicity's sake, we’re calling this reality ‘Reality A’ and your reality ‘Reality B.’ Reality B, in summary, is the opposite of Reality A. However, we all have a feeling that some of the details vary greatly.”

 

As they walk down the hallway together, it became painfully obvious to Shiro that Varkon is a talker. 

 

“You’ve probably already noticed, but we left you in the suit you did your trial in. We were going to let you change back, but your Paladin armor would attract too much attention. We’re trying to keep this alternate reality thing all hush-hush. As for your face, you should be fine. No one has seen Reality A Shiro in a long time, so few know what he looks like. On the off chance someone recognizes you, tell them you’re a Druid practicing an appearance-changing spell for Haggar. Speaking of Haggar, I hope she didn’t poke around in your mind too much. Haggar really likes looking at memories… Especially at happy ones that haven’t been tainted by the war. Happy memories are quite rare. I don’t have many. Those I do have tend to revolve around Zarkon. Zarkon, our brave, strong, and amazing founder. It sucks that he’s dead.”  

 

Shiro ends up tuning out Varkon’s rambling. However, a few of Varkon’s sentences stay with him.  _ Zarkon, our brave, strong, and amazing founder. It sucks that he’s dead.  _ Such facts, even though Shiro knows he is in alternate reality, shock him. Is it possible for Zarkon to be good? Is it possible for Zarkon to save lives rather than take them? Just thinking about it all is enough to make him feel uneasy. If Zarkon is capable of good, then Allura is capable of evil... Alfor is capable of evil.  _ Voltron _ is capable of evil. Ingis had called him a murderer. Just who did he kill? Just how many did creatures did he murder? 

 

Varkon leads Shiro back to the lower levels of the base. Suddenly stopping in order to palm open a door that nearly blends into the wall of the ship, Shiro runs into Varkon. Varkon doesn’t so much as flinch. At this, Shiro can’t help but feel that his earlier judgment of Varkon was inaccurate.      

 

They walk into the room, which looks surprisingly like a living room, with there being plush furniture and paintings decorating the walls. Shiro emits a sigh of relief. It isn’t so much the room as the alien within it that comforts him. Shiro can’t believe that he is able to find Haggar’s presence comforting. However, nonstop talking from Varkon and alternate realities certainly played a role in his shifting opinion of her. 

 

“Yes, your history lesson is with me. I’m sure you’re relieved to know that,” Haggar says, with a laugh. “Varkon tends to talk nonstop. Thankfully, he is quiet around me. It’s probably because I put a sound spell him on one time... I made it impossible for him to speak for a week. At first it was strange but after a while it felt like bliss.” At the word ‘bliss,’ Varkon emits an offended huff. “Go ahead and sit wherever you like. Or lie down, for all I care. I’m just going to have you close your eyes. Once you close your eyes, I’m going to project some images to your mind. I’ll let you look at them and answer any questions you have after you’ve seen all of the important images.”

 

Little to no talking? Shiro can’t help but love Haggar’s style of teaching. Such a style is necessary after his morning suffering with Varkon. As Shiro walks towards the nearest (purple, of course) couch, he's very aware of how Varkon follows him and moves to sit next to him, only pausing mid-sit when Haggar speaks.

 

“Your presence is not necessary at the moment, Varkon. I’m more than capable of handling him.” Haggar’s voice is steady and powerful, but not cruel. 

 

“I have no doubts about that, but Ignis ordered me to be here,” Varkon replies, in a tone quite similar to Haggar’s.   

“I don’t care about what Ignis ordered,” Haggar replies, her voice now strained due to frustration. “Just leave! If you stay, you will distract me. It would be different if you were more quiet. Your talking during my lessons is so distracting that I end up projecting a picture of you instead of what I intend to. So please, just leave. Tell Ignis whatever you want.”

 

“All right, fine,” Varkon sighs. “Ignis is gonna be livid.” With that said, he exits, the door closing with a soft hiss behind him.

 

“Finally, chatterbox is gone,” Haggar huffs. “I thought he would never leave.” Sitting in a chair across from Shiro, she begins to instruct him. “Now, close your eyes. Try to empty your mind. At the very least, try to focus on the sound of my voice.”

 

Shiro does as she says. It is surprisingly easy for him to focus on her voice, to empty his mind to…

 

_ “Are you really doing this, Alfor?” Zarkon asks. Zarkon’s scaly hands shake as he speaks. “First you steal my territory. Then you burn any territory you render useless… Kill any peasants you render useless. Just what will you do next? Will you steal my ships? Will you steal my technology? Will you steal my soldiers? Will you kill me? Worst yet, will you kill my son?”  _

 

_ Zarkon’s jaw goes slack as Alfor laughs at him. Dark shadows accent his face, making his features look sharper. Sitting gracefully upon his throne, Alfor says, “Foolish, foolish Zarkon. You’re always slow on the uptake. I have already done many of those things. However, there’s one thing I’ve saving for last.” Alfor snaps his fingers and a servant hands him a glowing white goblet. Alfor takes a sip of the drink, which is as red as blood, before saying more. “I suggest you go back to your castle, Zarkon. I suggest you go back and stay out of my way. That is, unless you value your empire over the life of your son.”      _

 

_ Zarkon snarls at Alfor before running out of the Altean castle… Running with Altean soldiers laughing at him. It’s as if the mere fact that he is trying amuses them. Or perhaps it is the mere thought of Zarkon thinking he has a chance to save his son that amuses them. _

 

_ There is shouting. There is the sound of gunfire. The world gains a red tint. The scene shifts. _

 

_ Zarkon is holding a dead Lotor in his arms and crying. He is crying so hard that his great body shakes. Kolivan, clad in lightweight, black and purple armor, wards off the attacking soldiers. He’s joined by a few other Galra. There aren’t many Galra left. Bodies litter the floor. Their lifeless forms occasionally trip Altean soliders. Their blood makes the soldiers slip. The Altean soldiers, agile on their feet, trip and slip but never fall.  _

 

_ “We can’t stay. At this rate, we’re all going to die!” Kolivan shouts, all the while driving his blade through the stomach of an Altean soldier.  _

 

 _“You’re right,” Zarkon replies, although his eyes never leave his son’s face. “Order all that are alive to take the castle’s escape pods and head to_ that _spot. You have all of the plans, don’t you?”_

 

_ “Yes,” Kolivan replies, kicking a particularly pesky Altean soldier in the stomach before beheading them. “We must leave soon if we are to make it.” _

 

_ Scenes of fighting, death, and running blur together in one confusing, bloody mess until Kolivan and Zarkon reach an escape pod. It’s bigger than most. “You’ve been on your feet quite a long time,” Zarkon remarks, as Kolivan sags and has to use an arm to brace himself against a wall. “Get in the healing pod and sleep. I’ll pilot us first.” _

 

_ Before Kolivan can object, Zarkon gently pushes him into the healing pod. “I’m sorry,” Zarkon whispers before putting the pod on autopilot and exiting the craft. Kolivan, who realizes what he is doing, desperately pounds on the glass of the pod. He only stops when the pod gets the better of him and makes him sleep. _

 

_ Zarkon manages to kill ten soldiers and King Alfor before dying at the hands of the dual sword-wielding Coran.  _

 


	5. Chapter 5

5   

 

“Just what are you doing?” A voice shouts, making the image of Coran killing King Alfor shatter. Shiro rapidly blinks his eyes, trying to adjust the light… Trying to clear his vision. When his vision clears a few seconds later, he sees Keith striding right over to Haggar. He walks so fast that he nearly has to skid in order to stop in front of Haggar. “I did not give you permission to be in a room alone with him!”

 

“Why are you so worried, Ignis?” Haggar asks. Even though her question is addressed to Ignis, she gazes at Shiro as she speaks. “Are you worried that he’ll kill me? Or are you worried that he’ll corrupt me, make me favor the Altean side? Or is it the other way around? Are you afraid that I’m going to kill him? Are you afraid that I’m going to corrupt him?”

 

“My concerns are none of your business, Haggar,” Keith snarls. Even though Shiro can’t see Keith’s face because he is wearing his mask, he knows that he’s scowling. “Although if you’re that curious, I’ll tell you. I’m concerned by your new habit of disobeying orders. If you keep it up, I’ll have no choice but to think you’re working for  _ them _ .” Although Keith doesn’t say it, Shiro knows he is referring to the Alteans. “Now go see Antok. He wishes to speak to you.” 

 

“I can’t be alone with him, but you can?” Haggar asks with a laugh. “You just love to contradict yourself, don’t you?” 

 

Suddenly, Keith pulls Haggar to a standing position by yanking on her left arm. “Leave before I escort you.” At his words, she shakes her arm loose from his grip before exiting with her head held high. 

 

Shiro knows that this Keith - this Keith that calls himself “Ignis” - is not his Keith. Yet, he feels compelled to do something. He feels compelled, at the very least, to say something. “Haggar was just doing what she thought was right,” Shiro says, in a soft voice. “Just so you know, I’d never hurt Haggar. I’d never have her show me anything you didn’t want me to see either.” Shiro finds himself rambling. “I want to hear it from you. Why do you go by Ignis? Where is the rest of Voltron? What did your Shiro do to deserve to be called a murder?” 

 

Shiro shouldn’t have said all of this while Keith was upset. Keith’s hands hand been shaking when he spoke to Haggar. Now his whole body shakes. His whole body shakes as he grabs Shiro by the collar of his suit. Keith is surprisingly strong, and is able to pull Shiro up onto his feet with one, somewhat swift motion. “You want to know? You really want to know?” Keith’s voice shakes as much as his body, if not more so. “I’m not going to give you anywhere close to the details that Haggar could give you with her pictures. Instead, I’m just going to sum it all up for you.” Keith pushes Shiro down almost as suddenly as he pulled him up. With Shiro on the ground, Keith easily looms above him. “You killed my mother. You killed the former leader of the Blade of Marmora and you tried to kill me. Well,  _ you _ didn’t.  _ My _ Shiro did. Then again, does it really matter? As long as you’re a  _ Shiro _ , you’re capable of doing the same thing.”

 

“I may be capable of doing the same thing, doesn’t mean that I will. I never hurt my Keith. I never hurt him, and I won’t hurt you,” Shiro responds, after a long moment of silence. Keith’s words had sent an extremely cold chill down his spine. 

 

“You’re a liar,” Keith hisses, still looming above him. “You’re hurting Keith right now. You’re hurting him by being gone. Whether the enemy is Galra or Altean, the enemy outnumbers the heroes. You may as well left him for dead, like my Shiro left me for dead.” 

 

“Keith, I-” Shiro responds, just to get interrupted. 

 

“Save it, Shiro! I don’t want to hear it. Also stop calling me Keith. I’m not your Keith. In my reality, I’m no longer Keith. I stopped being Keith after my Shiro tried to kill me.” Keith sounds so angry that Shiro is surprised that he hasn’t burst into flames. “I don’t want to hear you call me Keith ever again. Call me Ignis. Or better yet, don’t talk to me. If I knew how to send you back I would. Or if I was allowed to send you back out into space I would. But I can’t. You’re valuable, even in this reality. You’re Reality A’s only hope. You’re the only one that can make Voltron good. You’re the true pilot of the Black Lion. Not  _ her. _ ” Ignis doesn’t need to say her name in order for Shiro to know that he is talking about Allura. “Everyone here is counting on you. Well, almost everyone.” Shiro doesn’t need Ignis to clarify in order to know that Ignis is not counting on him. 

 

“I know apologizes could never make up for what the Reality A Shiro did to you and your mother, but I would like to apologize on his behalf,” Shiro replies. He tries not to show just how surprised he is that Ignis doesn’t interrupt him.  

 

“You can apologize by saving the universe,” Ignis barks just as Varkon enters the room. “Until then, your apology won’t be accepted.”  

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Varkon says, all the while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, “but Antok wants to see you. Both of you.” 

 

At this, Ignis rolls his eyes. “Of course he wants to see me,” Ignis mutters. Clearing his throat, Ignis adds, “Well, have fun escorting Shiro! I’m going to leave ahead of you two.” 

 

Upon hearing Ignis’s response, Varkon emits a nervous laugh. “So, funny story… Antok wants to see just you and Shiro. He doesn’t want me or anyone else there. That means you’ll have to escort Shiro there and back to his cell.”

 

“Fucking Antok's getting bossy,” Ignis mutters under his breath, “He’s co leader, not leader! I’ll do what he says for now.” With this said, Ignis roughly grabs Shiro by his flesh arm and pulls him out of the room. Varkon exits soon after and increases his walking pace to a light jog so he can pass them and return to whatever he had been doing. 

 

Once Varkon is out of sight, Ignis lets go off Shiro’s arm. Using both hands to push shiro ahead of him, Ignis says, “I’m not going to hold your hand as if you are some lost child. Just keep walking and I’ll tell you when to turn.”  

 

Knowing that their conversation and Andok's request has Ignis in an irritable mood, Shiro decides to not reply. However, he is sure to listen carefully whenever Ignis instructs him to take a certain turn.

 

With their walk turning out to be longer than Shiro thought it would be, Shiro's mind wanders. Although for the first couple of minutes he mostly just zones out, he eventually starts thinking. Specifically, he starts to wonder. Ignis said Antok is the co-leader of the Blade of Marmora. Does that mean that Kolivan, the leader in his reality, is the other co-leader? If so Shiro finds it strange. He thought they would’ve had first brought him to Kolivan. Or if not Kolivan, Antok. Does this mean that Ignis’ position is high up? Could this mean that Ignis is the co-leader of the Blade of Marmora? 

 

“Walk right, you idiot!” Ignis exclaims, interrupting Shiro’s train of thought. Not waiting for Shiro to react, Ignis shoves Shiro to the right. Out of the corner of his eyes, Shiro sees the wall, or what he thinks is a wall rapidly approaching his face. To his luck it is a door which he is able to stumble through. 

 

Shiro is surprised to be able to see Antok's face. Many of the members of the Blade of Marmora favor taking o f f their masks as little as possible. Antok has been no exception. Rather, he has taken such a habit to an extreme. In Reality B , Shiro never saw Antok without his mask and according to various rumors, only a handful of Galra have seen his face. Shiro can’t help but wonder if this Antok is the same as the Antok in Reality B. One look at Andok's scared and worried face makes Shiro conclude that they are different. This Antok seems more tired than the Reality B Antok… He seems too tired to act tough. 

 

“I apologize for what you’ve experienced so far,” Antok says, his gaze slowly shifting from Shiro’s face to Ignis. “It seemed necessary. However, some things were taken too far.” Behind him Ignis moves his feet, awkwardly changing his position likely due to the guilt that he feels. “We have no choice but to be weary. We have been deceived in the past. Deceived and betrayed.” Antok motions for them to move closer. Although first hesitating, Shiro moves closer, with Ignis quick to follow suit. “You have been given a lot of information. Despite this, there is much you have not learned about. There is much you still need to learn. Sit. Stay a while. I wish to exchange information.” 

 

Shiro, with his curiosity getting the better of him, almost automatically sits. Ignis on the other hand resits, and reminds standing, with his arms crossed. “Just how much are you going to tell him?” Ignis speaks with a scowl on his face. “Telling an outsider like him a lot of information is a bad idea. It puts our safety at risk. You could say it puts his safety at risk as well. Or perhaps better put, it negatively impacts his emotional well being. How do you think he is going to react when you tell him some of the awful things they’ve done?” 

 

At Ignis’s words, Antok runs a weary hand over his face. “Like always, you bring up good points. However, we can’t keep him in the dark. We have to tell Shiro some of the things they’ve done. It would be better for us to do so, so he can better prepare himself for the things he will see.”

 

“Have it your way,” Ignis snarls, “but don’t expect me to be present for it. If you want to talk about such awful things in detail, fine. I refuse to talk about them. After all, it’s bad enough that I had to live through some of those events. I’m not going to torture myself just to catch him up to speed.” Before either Shiro or Antok can utter a sound, Ignis storms out of the room. 

 

“He’s had a rough life. Try not to take too much of what he says personally,” Antok sighs upon Ignis’s departure. “It doesn’t help that you look like someone who’s caused a lot of pain.” Antok lets a beat of silence pass before saying more. “The Paladins of Voltron here are not like your friends. Well, they may have started out kind, but they’ve changed. Power has corrupted them and blinded them. Due to this, Allura has made them into powerful puppets.”  

 

At the word “puppets” Shiro winces.  _ His  _ friends are puppets? But they are smart and brave, how could they become puppets? “Tell me more. I want to know. No, I  _ need  _ to know how they came to be evil. I need to know so I can save them.” 

 

“Fight them, you mean,” Antok somberly replies. “They seem too far gone to be saved.” 

 

Anger immediately boils up inside him. Even though Shiro would love to scream and shout his thoughts at Antok, he settles for a hiss. “With all due respect, Antok, I’ll be the judge of that.” 

 

To Shiro’s surprise, Antok laughs. “Yes, yes you’re right about that. Now, stop talking and start listening.”   


	6. Chapter 6

6

 

“Haggar told you about the history of this reality, but didn’t tell you about your friends,” Antok says, with a weary expression. “I’m afraid that I'm going to have to apologize in advance because what I’m about to tell you is going to be far from pleasant.”

 

“I can take it,” Shiro replies, in order to assure Antok (and himself) that he can handle what he has to say. Shiro doesn’t like the idea of his friends being anything less than good. However, these aren’t Shiro’s friends… These paladins were born and raised in a different reality than him. He can’t let the memories of  _ his  _ paladins prevent him from making the right decision when fighting _ these _ paladins. Yet, he should use his memories of his paladins to remind him of what they could be. Of what they  _ should _ be. 

 

“I suppose how you all meet starts out the same…” Antok says. “You, well this reality’s Shiro ends up on Earth and gets saved by your fellow paladins. Lance somehow manages to pilot the Blue lion, and you find Allura and Coran. All of that is, more or less, your destiny playing itself out. However, after that, Allura and Coran plan out everywhere you go and every creature you face.”

 

“Everything?” Shiro asks, his eyebrows raising as he does so. “How could they plan out everything?”

 

“They don’t have to have things _ really _ happen to you,” Antok explains, with a heavy sigh. “They just have to make you think various things are really happening… That you’re saving innocent people and that you’re killing evil Galra. Most of what the paladins experience is nothing but illusions.” Antok pauses before saying more. He seems to be getting more weary with every word he utters. “But every fight they thought they were in… Those were real. However, they weren’t fighting who they thought they were.”

 

“So they were fighting the Blade of Marmora,” Shiro replies, upon noticing that Antok is too upset to clarify. “They killed you, the good guys.” Upon noticing the slight tremble in Antok’s hands, Shiro realizes something. As his eyes water, Shiro says, “They didn’t just kill rebels, did they? They killed unarmed creatures.” 

 

“Yes,” Antok replies, his voice cracking. “They have killed rebels and innocent creatures alike. They have killed them because they thought they were the enemy. They are unaware the real enemy is themselves.”

 

“The real enemy is themselves?” Shiro asks, feeling a bit confused. “I thought it was the Alteans,” Shiro can only cough out their names, “I thought it was Allura and Coran who were truly evil.”

 

Antok emits a somber laugh. “They’re evil, there’s not doubt about that. However, they couldn’t make an innocent and happy person evil. There has to be darkness in their hearts and their minds for them to manipulate… For them to use to make the paladins killing machines.” When Shiro responds to Antok’s words with a tired look, he explains further. “The paladins had to be tricked at first. They had to think they were killing evil Galra. Now…”

 

“Now?” Shiro asks, even though he doesn’t want to hear the answer.

 

“Now Allura is using mind control on them  _ or _ they don't care who they are killing anymore,” Antok replies, slowly rising from his seat and walking towards Shiro. With him being both taller and stronger than Shiro, he makes sure to lightly touch Shiro’s right shoulder in comfort. “I’m sorry for telling you so much at once. I know it’s hard to hear.”

 

“Yeah, it is,” Shiro admits. “I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want it to be true. I want this to be a nightmare. I want this to be a nightmare I can forget in the morning.”

 

"I wish that this was a nightmare as well," Antok responds with a loud sigh. Antok lets a beat of silence pass before saying more. "Ignis, or Keith as you know him, is having an especially hard time with this. All of his friends, including this reality's version of  _ you _ have turned on him. Or, at the very least, abandoned him."

 

"Abandoned him?" Shiro asks with morbid curiosity. "Did Voltron leave him or did he leave them?"

 

"I'm not entirely sure," Antok replies, with a heavy frown. "He finds it hard to talk about Voltron. The Voltron he use to know and the awful thing it has become pains him. The paladins of Voltron were the few friends he had. Ignis has always had a difficult time making friends... Few aliens have ever heard of an human, much less seen one. To make matters more complicated, he’s part Galra. Few understand him. Many fear him. No one knows how his mixed blood will impact his physical and mental characteristics in the future. As it is, the poor man has gone through a dramatic change already."

 

"What kind of dramatic change?" Shiro asks, with curiosity growing with each passing minute. "Is his ‘dramatic change’ the reason he wears a mask all the time? Is this ‘dramatic change’ the reason he goes by Ignis and not Keith?"

 

"As much as I would like you to know, I can't tell you. It is not my secret to tell." Antok, who had his hand on Shiro's shoulder, finally moves it. "He's had a rough life, Shiro. Please don't make it rougher."

 

Although Antok doesn't state it directly, Shiro understands what he means.  _ Don't bring it up unless he brings it up first. Otherwise, you'll only make him upset. _

 

"I won't," Shiro replies, a warm wave of determination washing over his body. "I'm going to change his life for the better. His life and all of the paladins of Voltron. That includes Allura and Coran."

 

"That is easier said than done," Antok replies, sounding a bit skeptical. "You can't change those who don't want to change."

 

Shiro's response is quick. "I'll show them the benefits of changing by changing one of them at a time. Surely after witnessing their fellow paladins become happy and healthy they'll want to change!"

 

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Antok says, guiding Shiro to the door. "However, you must not let your emotions cloud your judgement. If you lower your guard too much, they will kill you. If you take too long to change them, they will kill you." Upon hearing such dark words, Shiro leaves. The door slides closed with a hiss behind him.

 

"Wow, he talked to you for quite a while," Varkon exclaims with an oblivious smile. “I went for a walk and came back and you were still in there! Antok isn't usually much of a talker. What did you talk about?" When Shiro fails to respond, Varkon's smile fades. "So he talked to you about  _ that, _ huh? That's heavy stuff. I can't believe he told you that after your history lesson! You must feel overwhelmed."

 

At this, Shiro emits a tired chuckle. "I’m not sure how to describe how I’m feeling right now. However, I’m sure that I want to talk to Ignis. I want to learn more about him. What was his mother’s name? Where was he born? I want to learn more about him and the other paladins so I can help them.” 

 

“I’m glad you want to help them,” Varkon replies, with watery eyes. “All people seem to talk about these days is killing. I’m sick of killing, Shiro. I’m sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of witnessing it. I’m sick of _ doing _ it. I want to help creatures. I want to help  _ all  _ creatures.” 

 

“I’m glad to hear that,” Shiro replies, with what he hopes to be a comforting smile. “Although helping others is hard to do if you don’t know much about them. Do you have anything I can read or watch about Voltron and the Alteans?”

 

Shiro’s interests in research excite Varkon, who immediately brightens at his words. “Oh, we’ve got lots! In fact, we have multiple rooms filled with information. Would you prefer to read or watch something?”

 

“Read,” Shiro replies, “I think I’ve done all the talking and listening I can do today.”

 

“In that case, I’ll lead the way with no commentary,” Varkon says with a laugh. Much to Shiro’s surprise, Varkon manages to stay quiet for the rest of their walk. Even further to his surprise, Varkon leaves Shiro alone in one of the data rooms - One of the many rooms that serves as a library of sorts. “I’m going to wait outside for you, since you seem like you could use some alone time.”

 

Shiro utters a quick, “thanks, Varkon,” before entering the room.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

7

 

The room is an organized mess at best. Glowing book - like objects, normal books made of paper and computers are scattered about. There are older forms of record keeping, such as scrolls and thin slices of rock. When Varkon had asked him if he wanted to read or watch information, Shiro thought he was insinuating that the data rooms were organized by media type. How could they be separated by media type if this one room seems to contain a little bit of everything?

 

With light, careful steps, Shiro walks around the room. He isn’t entirely sure where to start. There’s just so much information on the shelves, lying on tables and… strewn across the floor. When was the last time this room was cleaned? When was the last time anyone was in here? 

Shiro looks around the room, trying to find signs of anyone having visited recently. With the room being disorganized, it is difficult for him to tell by just looking. Running his human hand along a couple of the shelves, Shiro gazes at his fingers. There’s no dust. Someone has come here recently, they just made a mess...

 

A quiet but sudden rustling sound makes Shiro jump. Recalling what Varkon said about people wanting to kill this reality's Shiro, he is careful to avoid making any noise. He is also careful about how he goes to investigate where the sound originated from. Walking with painfully slow footsteps, Shiro heads toward the back of the room.

 

The farther he walks, the more the room changes. Shiro hadn't realized that the room was so large. He had thought it was a small room, like a supply closet. Such a thought couldn't have been further from the truth. The room is more like a hall or large meeting room - Similar to the one he had first met Ignis and Haggar in. However, unlike that  room, the lighting in this room gets worse the further into it you walk. It's almost if the data room had originally been three separate rooms - Rooms that had been fused together.

 

More shuffling sounds help Shiro know that he is going in the right direction. Well, that and the trail of papers on the floor. Despite knowing that even the smallest sound could give him away, Shiro takes a step closer to picks up one of the papers.

 

The paper doesn't seem old - it hasn't yellowed with age. The words on the page, to Shiro's surprise aren't written in the Galra language. The language and handwriting looks familiar. Where has he seen such writing before? Who does he know that writes like  _ this?  _ With Shiro having met many aliens, he doesn't have the faintest idea of who writes in such a way. Clinging to the faint hope that he might recall at a later time, Shiro moves to put the paper into a pocket.

 

The Blade of Marmora suits don't have pockets. And his, since no one wants to trust him, doesn't have a belt or anything that could be used in place of a pocket. With a quiet sigh, Shiro settles for tucking the paper into the collar of his suit. He should really try to get something else to wear. Or, at the very least, have one of the Galra give him a bag. He shouldn't have to tuck things the into the collar of his suit.

 

Walking just a few steps farther, Shiro comes to the end of the data room. The back corner of the room is where his mysterious shuffler seems to be residing. Shiro is barely able to see that anyone is present, much less who it is - With there being a single, faint light. Even though Shiro can't make out details of the creature, he can see more general things - Things such as purple fur peeking out from underneath a black hood. Beside the Galra, whose torso is completely hidden by a stack of books and papers, is a picture. The picture seems to be one of the oldest documents on the table, with the once white frame being stained a faint yellow color.

 

The Galra paws through a stack of papers, only taking a few seconds to look each over before moving onto the next stack. With each stack they go through, the more tense they get. What are they looking for? When the Galra pauses halfway through the stack to look at the picture, Shiro's curiosity grows. Maybe the Galra isn't looking for something. Maybe they are looking for someone... Who are they looking for? A friend? A relative? The last two possibilities make Shiro's heart ache. He never did help Pidge find their parents before he ended up in this reality.

 

Shiro can't help but wonder how Pidge is doing. Are they mad that he disappeared? Or are they mad that he didn't keep his promise? Shiro hopes they care more about the latter. He doesn't want them to be upset over something as simple as him being gone. Him being gone isn't the end of the world. After all, Keith is plenty capable of leading them.

 

Shaking his head side to side, Shiro tries to focus on the present. He needs to stay alert in order to prevent being seen. If the Galra sees him, there's no telling what they'll do. Based on his memory of his first meeting with a member of the Blade of Marmora, Shiro doubts the Galra's reaction would be anything but violent… Violent and extremely unpleasant. In other words, him getting caught could have painful (or deadly) consequences. Despite this, Shiro feels that it is worth the risk. Both in his reality and in this one, Shiro has had limited interaction with the Galra. Due to this, he knows all of the evil things they are capable of. However, he only knows a small sliver of the good they are capable of. Shiro wants to understand them better. He wants to understand them, Ignis and this whole reality better.

 

What could be a better way than to observe a Galra live their life?  _ Talking to them would be better, _ Shiro's mind quips. Talking really would be better, but -

 

The silence is broken by a series of thuds. The thuds, caused by books being knocked off a table, sound like thunder when they collide with the metal floor. The Galra stares at the books and papers that they knocked off the table. Their bright yellow gazes shifts from the floor to the picture which they clutch in one hand. Wondering why they are upset, Shiro finds himself walking forward. He finds himself walking toward them, with his eyes never leaving their face.

 

Shiro is familiar with the phrase "curiosity killed the cat , " but he never thought that it would apply to him. Tripping over a small stack of books he didn't see, the Galra emits a low growl before putting their mask on. Its mask is one of few that Shiro has seen with just two eye holes. Many member of the Blade of Marmora have three eyeholes in their mask - Whether some Galra have three eyes or if it just serves as decoration , Shiro has no clue.

 

Once the Galra has their mask back on, they grab two of the books before running out a door Shiro wasn't aware existed until the Galra ran through it. Although Shiro is tempted to follow the Galra, he stays. Slowly picking up the papers and books the Galra had been looking at, Shiro finds himself feeling surprised for the millionth time in one day.

 

Although the books and most of the papers are written in the Galra language, some are written in different languages. Some are written in the strangely familiar language Shiro saw earlier. Others are more familiar. Others, such as notes hastily scribbled in the margins, are written in English. How could a Galra know English? Perhaps the creature he saw wasn't just any Galra... Perhaps the Galra he saw wasn't full Galra... Perhaps the Galra he saw was..."Keith," Shiro finishes his thought by saying his name out loud. "What has happened to you, Keith?" 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

8

 

Slowly lowering himself into the chair Ignis had been sitting in, Shiro goes through each paper one by one.

 

He struggles a bit with the Galra books.Turning to the English notes for clarification, Shiro finds himself further confused. Ignis seems to be researching a wide variety of things… Things as simple how to patch up a jacket, to… to extremely complicated things. There are notes relating to mind control. There are notes about the meaning of dreams. Although all of the notes capture Shiro’s interest, two in particular seem to be particularly important. 

 

_ -alternate realities cross just before major events = something big happening soon _

 

_ -nectar from Anik flower could fix me or make it worse _

 

Upon reading the notes, Shiro’s stomach does somersaults. Could his fight with the paladins be happening soon? Just how _ soon _ is soon? As for Ignis… Did he go through some weird second puberty? Was he injected with something? How would the Anik flower “fix” him? Most importantly, how could the flower make “it” worse? Shiro both does and doesn’t want to find out.

 

Suddenly, the room shakes. Hastily grabbing ahold of the table to avoid falling out of his chair, Shiro emits a heavy sigh as everything slides off the table. The books and papers form a small mound when they land on the floor. Shiro doesn’t have a chance to pick up the mess before Varkon sprints into the room, using the secret door Ignis had used. The fearful look on Varkon’s stout face is enough to make Shiro’s heart grow heavy. “Varkon? What’s wrong?”

 

“H-He’s here,” Varkon stammers. After taking a few shaky breaths, Varkon elaborates. “Your friend Matt is here. Well, the two of you are friends in  _ your  _ reality. Here, you’re enemies.”

 

“Why are we enemies?” Shiro asks. Just the thought of Matt hating him makes his heart ache. “Was it something I did?” The more questions he asks, the more his voice shakes. 

 

“I don’t have time to explain it to you,” Varkon says, grabbing Shiro’s human hand and pulling him through the secret door. 

 

To Shiro’s surprise, the secret door doesn’t lead to the hallway outside of the data room. Instead, it leads to a hallway that reminds Shiro of the Castle of Lions. The walls, the floor and even the ceiling in this hallway are shades of white and gray. Most shockingly, the lights are an indigo blue instead of a bright blue. It’s almost as if the color of the lights are a mix of blue and purple. “This hallway leads to some of our more secret hangars,” Varkon explains as he jogs, pulling Shiro along behind him. “You’re going to have to fight Matt. You’re one of two creatures that even has a chance of beating him.” Recalling just who had dashed into the hallway earlier, Shiro doesn’t need to ask to know that the other creature is Ignis.

 

They jog a few yards further before reaching the hangar. The hangar is smaller than most hangars Shiro has seen. It also holds smaller weapons and machines than Shiro is used to seeing. Despite this, Shiro is impressed. Or perhaps impressed isn’t the right word… Shiro’s more amazed than impressed.

 

The Blade of Marmora has made a chance for itself. They’ve given themselves a chance to save the universe by making their own hero… by making their own Voltron. Although their Voltron is far smaller and sporting the Galra colors, Shiro can see the resemblance. “You’re going to have me pilot  _ that _ ?” Shiro asks. “Wouldn’t I need three more creatures to help me pilot this?”

 

At this, Varkon emits a nervous laugh. “It would if it was larger and more powerful.” Just realizing that he has been pulling Shiro along the whole time, Varkon drops Shiro’s human hand. “This is a very serious situation. If Matt is lingering outside the base, then the rest of Voltron isn’t far behind.”

 

Shiro feels like a broken record as he ask what feels like his one-hundredth question in one day. “The  _ rest _ of Voltron? You don’t mean…” Shiro’s voice trails off as they approach the mini-Voltron. Does this mini-Voltron even stand a chance against a single lion?

 

“He’s the Red lion,” Varkon replies, motioning for Shiro to walk onto the mini-voltron’s left hand. “Now get going or we’ll all die!” Before Shiro can respond, the mini-Voltron lifts its hand towards its head and rests just outside of its mouth. With a shaky breath, Shiro walks through the mouth of the mini-Voltron and straps into the pilot seat. Once he’s seated, the mini-Voltron's mouth snaps close with a loud bang. 

 

The bottom part of the mini-Voltron, which Ignis operates, moves on its own. Shiro isn’t surprised by the lack of communication. Knowing that the lack of communication in a battle can have dangerous and potentially fatal consequences, Shiro attempts to speak to Ignis. "I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now," Shiro says, in a soft voice. "But I need some explanations. What did Varkon mean when he said Matt 'is' the Red Lion? Does he mean that Matt is the paladin of the Red Lion? I thought you were the paladin of the Red Lion... Then again, I suppose it's possible for you both to be the paladin of the Red Lion. After all, in my reality, both Zarkon and I are paladins of the Black Lion. Well, he was. I..." Shiro, upon recalling that the Zarkon Ignis knows is a benevolent creature, favors letting his voice trial off over mentioning Zarkon's death.

 

After his voice trails off, Ignis emits a somber laugh. "For someone who wants Matt's situation explained to him, you sure talk a lot. We should've flown out of the hangar by now. I don't have time to explain it to you."

 

"Can't you explain it on the way out?" Shiro asks. It isn't until after he asks that Shiro realizes his mistake. If the flight into the oddly placed base was dangerous, leaving the base is going to be just as dangerous. However, Shiro knows that Ignis is strong and intelligent. If there's anyone who is capable of carefully piloting a ship and holding a conversation at the same time, it's Ignis. Shiro hates to push, but he knows that sometimes a good push is all that Ignis needs. "Can you multitask or should I take over the job of flying us out of the base?"

 

"I'm not letting you do anything!" Ignis barks. Whatever he utters after is lost as the roar of the main thrusters pushes them out of the hangar and into space. "Well, I'm not letting you do  _ that  _ much. Hell, if i I had it my way, I'd be piloting the top half and somebody would be piloting the bottom. You shouldn't be in here at all. You shouldn't even be in this universe. All you've done since arriving here is fuck things up!"

 

From his fight with the robot version of himself, the intensive search of his brain and his history lesson, Shiro has to admit that his presence really seems to have shaken the base. However, Shiro never gets a chance to verbally admit to such a thing. Ignis interrupts him. "I'm not going to list off all of the things you fucked up," Ignis's voice is sharper than any knife Shiro has come across. "I'll tell you the most recent thing you've done. You've led Matt to us! I'm not exactly sure how, but you did! Thanks to you, Voltron could arrive at our base and kill us all. Killing everyone in this base would be the equivalent of killing the universe, with the majority of the rebels living here." Ignis goes silent for a few minutes as alarms blare, warning them that they are starting to stray from the path that prevents them from getting sucked into one black holes that is located near the base. "The blood of innocent people will be spilt. And thanks to your carelessness, it may as well be your hands killing them."

 

Although knowing that yelling will only make their whole situation worse, Shiro yells. "You know what, Ignis? Yell at me all you want. Call me evil, a traitor, a murder or whatever you will! Look at me as though you would like nothing more than to use me as a living punching bag. Hate me with all your might. Just know that such hate could hinder our ability to operate mini-Voltron and stop Matt. Know that your hate could become one of the reasons why innocent people are killed."

 

"SHUT UP," Ignis screams, sounding angrier than before, if such as thing is possible. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

 

Shiro does. Even though Ignis has hated and been mad at him ever since his arrival to this reality, the kind of anger that currently seeps from his voice is different. It sounds more like a mix of anger and frustration than pure anger. Could it be that Ignis knows that Shiro is right? Nervously biting his bottom lip, Shiro decides to say one more thing. “We need to trust each other if we’re going to defeat Matt. If you can’t trust me, trust in the fact that I would never want innocent people to die.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

9

 

Ignis doesn’t respond to his words. As they finally reach the area that is out of the danger zone of the black holes, Shiro can feel tension in the air. Ignis isn’t talking because he’s pissed. Ignis doesn’t want to be stuck with someone who looks like his Shiro but isn’t.  He is someone Ignis both does and doesn’t know. He is in a similar situation when it comes to Ignis. Ignis has the same personality as his Keith but has a different name… A different upbringing and a different appearance.  

 

Speaking of different appearances… The Red Lion, which hovers in front of them, is nearly unrecognizable. Her once bright red paint is now faded and appears more pink than red. Along her front legs are scratches, making it seem as though she just emerged from a tough battle. If such changes weren’t worrisome enough, her eyes are different. They’re darker, their color more gold than yellow.  _ The color of Red’s eyes match the color of Matt’s eyes. _ “No way…” Shiro whispers, “Matt is in Red? Or is a part of Red? How?”

 

“I found you, Shirogane!” Red growls. Her voice, which turns out to be Matt’s voice, sends chills down his spine. “I finally found you!” Red emits a sinister laugh before saying more. “You’ll pay for what you did to me.” 

 

Before Ignis can stop him, Shiro slams the button that allows them to project their voices outside of the mini-Voltron. “I’m not your Shiro, Matt! I didn’t do anything to you and I never will. Let me help you. Let  _ us _ help you. Together, we can get you back to normal.” 

 

“Don’t play dumb with me, Shirogane,” Matt hisses. “I know you’re a fan of tricks. You tricked me once and I won’t let you trick me again.” Before Shiro can respond, Matt lunges for them. Thanks to Ignis’s quick reflexes, they narrowly escape getting their left arm ripped off. 

 

“I didn’t…” Shiro, who doesn’t want to risk upsetting Matt further, lets his voice trails off. He rephrases what he was going to say. “I don’t,” his voice shakes,  _ oh how it shakes, _ “I don’t remember what I did. Will you remind me?”

 

“With pleasure, Shirogane,” Matt chirps as he spins to face them once again. “Meet me on the astral plane.”

 

Shiro knows it's a bad idea to meet Matt on the astral plane, but he also knows that it’s bad to not understand your opponent. Does the risk of meeting him on the astral plane outweigh the dangers? He thinks so. Rather, he hopes so. 

 

In the background, Shiro can hear Ignis slam the button that Shiro had pressed to project their voices, making it so Matt can no longer hear them. “You’re right about one thing,” Ignis barks, “You’re not my Shiro. My Shiro wouldn’t be dumb enough to meet his opponent on the astral plane.”

 

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Shiro snaps, finding Ignis’s anger contagious. “This mini-Voltron may look like Voltron but its fighting capabilities are nowhere close. We may as well be fighting Red with a glorified tin can. If I meet Matt on the astral plane, Red should become more vulnerable. While I try to get Matt to see reason, you should talk to Red.”

 

“I’ve tried to talk to her before. I’ve tried so many times that I’ve lost count,” Ignis replies, his voice sounding strained. “Do you really think meeting Matt on the astral plane will make a difference? Do you really think it will give me a chance to save them both?”

 

Having always been someone who looks on the bright side, Shiro says, “I don’t think. I  _ know _ .” 

 

There is a moment of silence before Keith responds. “Go. Save Matt and prove you’re different than my Shiro.” 

 

Shiro lets go. He lets his focus crumble and his body become numb. He lets his mind wander until he doesn’t think anything at all. He only becomes alert when he notices a change in temperature. The once warm cockpit of the mini-Voltron has become cool. Slowly opening his eyes, Shiro is greeted by stars. The white stars shimmer amongst a sky that is a dark purple… The purple is so dark that it is nearly black. Making the sky even stranger are the stars that glow an Altean blue. Those same stars are scattered about, making the sky seem to meld into the ground. Shiro becomes so distracted by his surroundings that he doesn’t notice Matt approach him. 

 

“Shirogane,” Matt says, making him jump. This Matt looks different than the Matt he knows. His hair is longer, there are bags under his eyes, and scars cover his face. The most prominent of Matt’s scars is one that runs across his neck, as if his throat had been slit. Well, that’s what Shiro imagines the whole scar to be like. With Matt wearing the clothes they had worn when they were prisoners of the Galra, his neck is only partially exposed. “You really came.” 

 

“Of course I did, buddy,” Shiro replies in a soft voice. “Now that I’m here, tell me what happened. Tell me so I can help you.” 

 

“Why tell you when I can show you?” Matt says, before closing what little space there is between them. Throwing a left hook, Matt lands a direct hit on Shiro’s jaw. As Shiro stumbles back, Matt gives him a predatory look. Raising his arms to protect his face, Shiro mentally curses at himself. Punching someone's face, especially something as hard as a jaw, can hurt. It can hurt so much that you’d avoid punching again and instead…

 

Just as Shiro regains his footing, Matt swings his right leg. Not sure where Matt is aiming he takes a chance and ducks. He does so in time to feel a wave of air pass over his head. Taking advantage of Matt’s lack of balance, Shiro shoves him. The shove is enough to knock Matt over. 

“I don’t want to fight you,” Shiro huffs. “I want to talk. Why won’t you talk to me, Matt?”

 

“I won’t talk to you because you didn’t let me talk when it mattered the most,” Matt shouts. “You didn’t let me…” Matt’s eyes grow hazy. “You didn’t let me…” 

 

“I didn’t let you do what?” Shiro asks. When Matt fails to respond, Shiro crouches down next to him. “Matt? Matt!” Matt doesn’t blink or acknowledge Shiro’s presence. “Matt, stay with me!” Shiro touches Matt’s shoulder, meaning to gently shake him. Before he is able to, he is sucked into Matt’s memories.

 

_ “They’re going to pick my dad next. I just know it,” Matt whispers. The sparse lighting of the cell makes Matt’s dark expression even darker. “I should be thankful that he wasn’t picked sooner. To them, he’s just a waste of space. Well, maybe not a complete waste. I’m sure Demonic Yoda would love to eat him for dinner.” _

 

_ “Stop talking like that. Also, stop calling  _ that _ beast ‘Demonic Yoda.’ You’re gonna ruin  _ Star Wars  _ for me,” Shiro hisses, his gaze shifting from Matt to the cell door. “Now stop talking and start sleeping. You never know when the guards will wake us and choose someone to fight.”  _

 

_ “So we’re calling it ‘choosing’ now, huh?” Matt huffs, with a bitter laugh. “Did that orange alien really have a choice? What about that rabbit-like alien? Sure, that goat-like alien chose to go, but most prisoners don’t chose to go. It’s only a matter of time before one of us gets thrown into the arena. My dad will probably be the first of us to be thrown in. After all, the Galra enjoy a quick, gory kill. After my dad, they’ll pick me. Or they might pick you before me, just to mix it up. You’re one of few that actually stands a chance”   _

 

_ “We’ll figure out a way to get out of here,” Shiro assures Matt. “We just need time to gather info and come up with a plan.”  _

 

_ “We don’t have time, Shiro,” Matt replies, “We’ll die before we get out of here.” _

 

_ “Shut up, a guard is coming” a dog-like alien growls. Despite their growling, Matt keeps talking. He keeps ranting and raving about how they’re going to die… They’re going to die in space with no one having a clue what happened to them. Would anyone miss them? Or would they just be forgotten? _

 

_ “If you’re yapping you must be feeling energetic,” a guard remarks, with a cruel smile on his face. “Whaddya say we get our pick early?” Not waiting for a response, the guard rips the cell door open, steps inside the cell, and slams the door closed behind him. “Should I pick one of the yappers or should I pick one of the sleeping beauties?” _

 

_ Shiro watches the guard with a weary gaze. Most of the guards the Galra use are robotic but this guard is Galra. This guard is a living creature, not a machine. Therefore this guard is unpredictable. Therefore this guard is dangerous. _

 

_ Humming an upbeat tune, the guard wanders around the cell, before stopping in front of the resting figure of Sam Holt. WIth a swift kick to the gut, the guard wakens Sam. “Now is your time to shine, filth.” _

 

_ “No, not him!” Matt shouts, “Pick anyone but him. Take me! I was the one talking!” When the guard appears to be unfazed by Matt’s shouting, he resorts to begging. Groveling beside the guard’s booted feet, Matt adds, “I was the one talking. I should be the one punished. Let me take his place. Please let me take his place!” _

 

_ The guard rubs their pointy chin as they think. “Why are you so eager to fight? Do you know this creature?” The guard motions to Sam. “Is this creature your friend? Or is this creature  _ more _ than a friend? Are you and this creature related?” The guard awaits an answer with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. As the guard waits, Sam gives Shiro a pleading look. It’s as though he’s saying “save my son.”  _

 

_ “Matt doesn’t know him,” Shiro whispers, “Matt just pities him because he’s old.” Shiro can’t bring himself to gaze at Matt, who is likely seething. He can’t bring himself to look at Sam either. Sam, who shaking and giving his son a pleading look. It’s a look that seems to say, “Forget about me. Save yourself.” _

 

_ “Well, that’s boring,” the guard remarks, before grabbing a hold of Sam’s wrists. “The crowd would’ve loved to see family members fighting side by side for their lives.” Giving their cell one last look, the guard adds, “No more talking unless you wanna fight. Sleep well, rats,” before dragging Sam out of the room. _

 

_ Once the guard is gone, Matt gives Shiro a strong shove. “What the hell was that, Shiro?” Matt hisses. “Why would you say that? If the guard had taken both of us, I could’ve made sure we both lived. Now my dad is going to die. He’s going to die and it’s all your fault.” _

 

_ “Oh, it’s my fault now?” Shiro replies. “Who was the one talking? Hell, who was the one that convinced me to go on the Kerberos mission? That was you. It’s your fault, Matt. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”  _

 

_ “Don’t you dare pin this on me,” Matt says, pointing an accusing finger at Shiro, “You were supposed to stay by the ship. Instead, you just ‘had’ to help us pull samples. If you had been by the ship, we could’ve escaped. We could’ve avoided ending up in this hell hole!” _

 

_ “This finger pointing isn’t getting us anywhere,” Shiro says, “Shut up and sleep unless you want to end up like your father.” _

 

_ Matt didn't talk to Shiro after that. He keeps to himself - Seeming to alternate between grieving for his father and plotting his escape. Or perhaps he is planning his revenge on Shiro. Afterall, Matt had come to blame Shiro for everything. Even though Shiro hates to admit so, he must admit that some of his hatred is warranted. After spending so much time in space... After becoming a prisoner of the Galra... He’s changed. He finds himself thinking and doing things that he never imagined himself doing. _

 

_ Things such as hiding behind aliens to avoid being picked because he has no choice. In all reality, he has a choice. He has a plethora of choices. Despite this, Shiro chooses the cowardly way out. He's too scared to face his fate. He's too scared to try to escape. He speaks of it but he can't do it. He can't do it... He should stay. He deserves to stay because he betrayed Matt by letting his father get taken. _

 

_ "It smells in here," the same guard that took Matt's father remarks one day. His remark, although not that uncommon, makes Shiro nervous. There aren't many of them left. There aren't many places to hide. He might get picked. Matt might get picked. He might be sent to die or be forced to watch his friend be sent to die. As the guard wanders around the cell, inspecting each prisoner, Shiro's anxiously twists the fabric of his shirt.  _ Please, not me. Please, not him.  _ The guard doesn't pick him but picks Matt. He picks Matt quite literally, grabbing ahold of Matt's wrists and pulling- Pulling him right out of the cell. _

 

_ Acting as though on instinct, Shiro grabs ahold of Matt's left ankle. He grabs Matt's ankle with both hands, holding it in a white-knuckled grip. The guard, to Shiro's horror, pulls Matt out of his grip with one swift tug. With mouth agape, Shiro falls forward. He narrowly avoids having the cell door shut in his face. He failed. He lost Matt. _

 

_ He lost Matt, even though he tried to save him. Maybe he didn't try hard enough. Maybe he shouldn't have tried at all... Afterall, what kind of chance does he have against technically superior aliens?  _

 

The scene fades to black as Shiro regains his normal eyesight. "Those... Those were your memories of what happened... There were also some of your Shiro's memories in there. All of that really happened? I did that? I'm sorry, Matt. I should've tried to save him. I shouldn't have let him go, no matter the cost. I shouldn't have let you go, either. I should've held on tighter, somehow... I should've... I should've done  _ so _ many things. On the behalf of your Shiro, I'm sorry."

 

"I don't understand," Matt wails, "I was so sure that you had done more... I thought you had done worse things. You didn't do as much as I thought you did." Matt rubs his red eyes and sniffles before saying more. "I'm confused... My mind feels fuzzy… And what do you mean, ‘my’ Shiro? Who are you?.”

 

“I’m not from this reality. I’m from a reality where Voltron and the Alteans are good, and the Galra are evil,” Shiro explains in a soft voice. “I can prove it to you… I don't know how, but I can.”

 

Matt emits a weak laugh. “I think you just did. However, just to be sure, tell me who you have a crush on.”

 

“You were,” Shiro stammers, “ready to kill me and now want to know who I have a crush on? Don’t you think your shift in thought and emotions is a bit drastic?”

 

“It is, but there’s a reason for it. It seems as though Ignis has been able to talk to Red. Red in turn is talking to me and mellowing me out… Helping me see reason. Red and I have been running for a long time. We can’t trust anyone, especially Allura. She’s the one that had my consciousness put into Red. Or at least I think she is the one that had me put into Red… My memories of our fusion are far and few inbetween. No matter the case, she’s dangerous. What she’s doing to the current paladins she could just do to Ignis. Well, in theory she could. We both know how tough Ignis is.” 

 

Now it’s Shiro’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, he was ready to kill me. He probably still is. I can’t blame him. I look like your Shiro...” 

 

“If there’s anything that this encounter has taught me,” Matt admits, “it’s that looks can be deceiving.” Matt emits a loud sigh before saying more. “If Ignis hasn’t learned such a thing, he will learn it soon… Red won’t let him stumble forever..”

 

“If we’re all set, we should leave the astral plane. Red and Ignis are probably getting worried since we’re taking so long,” Shiro responds. Matt mearly nods in agreement before fading away. Shiro takes a deep breath before doing the same.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

10

 

“I can’t believe that worked,” Ignis remarks. Unsurprisingly, he fails to properly greet Shiro upon his return from the astral plane. “I can’t believe it was that easy. Doesn’t it feel like it was too easy?” With each word, the pitch of Ignis’s voice rises. “This could be a trap.”

 

Shiro has to admit that it does seem too easy. However, he knows that panicking will get them nowhere. “Breathe with me, Ignis.” A shaky breath echoes within his ears. “That’s a good start. Just keep breathing. Now, let’s find out what Matt knows.”

 

Slamming the button that allows them to project their voices outside of the mini-Voltron, Shiro adds, “Matt, can you tell us if Allura is tracking you right now?”

 

“She’s tracking me right now,” Matt hastily responds, “but Red can run brief interference. During that short time, could you help me shake Allura?” With a brief pause, Matt adds “Maybe I should just leave. I don’t want…” his voice cracks, “I don’t want innocent creatures to die because of me.”

 

“We won’t let that happen,” Shiro assures Matt, “We’re not going to give up on you and we’re not going to leave you on your own.”

 

“Thank you, alternate-reality Shiro,” Matt says with a nervous laugh. “This whole situation feels surreal to me. I never thought that you would help me or be so…”

 

“So what?” Shiro stutters, almost too afraid to ask. 

 

“So kind. My Shiro was only like you when he was young. Now… Now he’s a monster. Now he’s missing or dead…. In all honesty, I don’t want to know where he is anymore.” 

 

“I hate to interrupt,” Ignis says, “but we don’t have time for this. We need to get back to the base so we can stop Allura from tracking you. I have no idea how we’d do such a thing so we’ll need all the time we can get” Emitting a small sigh, he adds, “if you want to live, follow us very carefully.” 

 

Matt silently obliges. Their pace is slow and painful, but it keeps them all alive. It also gives Ignis and Shiro time to contact the base. “We’re bringing a guest with us,” Ignis announces. 

 

Haggar’s the first one to answer the radio. “A guest?” She shrieks, her voice rising to an unnaturally high pitch. “Whether the Red Lion is part human or not… Whether the Red Lion is good or not, Allura can track them! If you bring them to the base you will put us all in mortal danger!”

 

Shiro doesn’t need to see Ignis’s face to know that he’s rolling his eyes. “You say that every time I bring someone to the base.” Ignis’s voice sounds unusually rough. Could his sudden reconnection with Red be taking a toll on his energy? “You know that we have no choice. Mini-Voltron can barely handle fighting one lion. Having the Red Lion on our side could increase our chances of winning significantly.”

 

“You are correct. I  _ hate _ it when you are correct. Antok, Varkon and a few others will do damage control because it is hard to hide a giant cat,” Haggar says with a loud sigh. “‘A giant cat, that you’re well aware, many are not fond of. Stay inside Mini-Voltron and guard the Red Lion. I’m grabbing some books from the data room and will meet you shortly.” Haggar pauses before adding, “No matter what happens, do not let Shiro exit Mini-Voltron. If he was seen, it would push those angered by Red’s presence over the edge.” 

 

At her words, Ignis softly growls. “I’m not stupid, Haggar. Do your job and I’ll do mine.”

 

To both Ignis’s and Shiro’s surprised, Haggar laughs. “Of course,  _ sir. _ ” 

 

“You know, for an old woman, she’s pretty sassy,” Shiro remarks, earning himself a half-hearted “shut up” from Keith. “She reminds me of my Coran… Although my Coran is more goofy than sassy. Coran never fails to cheer us up...” Upon realizing that he was rambling, Shiro utters a quick apology. 

 

“It’s okay,” Ignis begrudgingly admits. “If my Coran was like that, I’d do the same thing.”

 

Their conversation comes to an end as they focus on landing. Taking off turns out to be a lot easier than landing, with landing seeming to be a balancing act. With a few curse words uttered, Shiro and Ignis manage to land the Mini-Voltron. The Red Lion is quick to land beside them. Seeming to sense the complication of the situation, the Red Lion remains motionless, and appears to be awaiting orders. 

 

Shiro isn’t sure how Kolivan and Haggar are capable of keeping the hangar clear, but he appreciates it. The last thing they need is an angry horde of rebels crowding the place, preparing to fight the Red Lion. 

 

“Do you really think there’s a way to stop Allura from tracking him?” Ignis asks in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. “Do you think there’s a way for us to separate them… To get Matt a body? He’d have to get a robot body but surely that would be better than being part of a giant cat.” 

 

Even though Shiro knows that Ignis is asking him serious questions, he can’t help but chuckle at his description of Red. “Sometimes thinking isn’t the best course of action… Sometimes just hoping is. I hope there’s a way we can help Matt. For now, all we can do is hope and see if the pieces fall into place. That is, unless you are suddenly a magic and medical expert.” 

 

“I am neither,” Ignis says, “but Haggar is. If there’s anyone that can help it’s her. If she ends up not being able to help, we’ll just have to fight Voltron sooner than planned.” Ignis’s voice is sharp and his eyes gleam with determination. 

 

“With what weapons though?” Shiro asks, “We both know how weak Mini-Voltron is. I suppose you could fire cannons  _ and _ engage in aerial combat. However, Pidge could sneak up on you with their cloaking abilities and Lance has a good chance of out maneuvering you. Hunk could easily body slam you and Allura… Allura pilots Black, right?” 

 

“Yes,” Ignis replies. Sensing where Shiro’s thoughts are going, he quickly adds,  “attempting to reclaim Black would be crazy! We’d have to distract Hunk, Pidge and Lance for you to get a chance to approach her. Even then, if they sense that she is in danger, they will run to her aid. Would you be able to fight Allura? Would you be able to fight  _ any _ of them?”

 

Ignis’s doubt is valid but irritating. “I just fought Matt, so what do you think?”

 

“You fought him for like two minutes,” Ignis scoffs. “You mostly talked to him. Talking may have worked this time, but it won’t always work. You’re gonna have to fight, Shiro. You’re going to have to defend yourself.” Ignis takes a deep, shaky breath before continuing, “Don’t let hope blind you.” 

 

Shiro feels himself snap. “Well I’m sorry that I’m not willing to be as pessimistic as you. Have you  _ really _ tried to help them?” With a brief pause, he adds, “So far the only things you seem to care about is getting rid of me and fixing your appearance.”

 

Ignis responds with silence. The silence is heavy… It hurts more than any words could. It threatens to crush him, to consume him… “How do you know? How do you  _ quiznacking  _ know?” Ignis emits a growl before continuing. “You know what? Don’t answer me. I don’t want to hear you speak. I don’t want you to be here. Antok wants you though… He’s the one that’s convinced me that you can save us. You know what? Antok is the one that should be helping you pilot Mini-Voltron. I have better things to do than work with an inconsiderate man like you.” 

 

When Ignis exits, leaving him alone in favor of speaking with Matt, Shiro’s heart aches. Why does it have to be so difficult… Why did his alternate have to do so many awful things? Why did his alternate have to hurt Ignis?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

11 

 

Even though all they’ve done is argue, Shiro misses Ignis’s presence. It is lonely in the Mini-Voltron without him. Shiro watches Ignis interact with Matt - A poor weary soul stuck in a perhaps more weary lion. Although Matt doesn’t register his gaze, Red does. Even though they have no reason to connect, she purrs in the back of his mind. The comforting sound reminds him of Black and his universe. With his heart aching, Shiro comes to a realization. The only way he’ll even have a chance to return to his universe is to try to understand the universe he is currently in. Daring to push, Shiro says, “Tell me more about Ignis.” 

 

Hesitating ever so briefly, Red obliges. With one last comforting purr, she feeds memories directly into Shiro’s brain. 

 

_ “What is the Red Lion doing way out here?” Shiro asks, all the while slapping pesky leaves aside. “I thought you said the Lions would remain dormant unless their pilot found them? If that’s the case, why would the Red Lion constantly be on the move? Why would she seem to be, in a weird way, both running and hiding from us?” Just before Allura replies, Shiro trips over an exceptionally large tree root and is sent tumbling down a hill. He only stops tumbling down the seemingly endless hill when he runs into something hard and metallic.  _

 

_ Hitting the object with a loud bang, Shiro whispers something to the effect of “thank god for armor” before looking to see what he ran into. Gazing down at him is the Red Lion. Fearing for the worst, Shiro attempts to contact the lion and it’s potential paladin via the helmet comm. When his attempts are meet with static, he resorts to yelling and making various gestures.  _

 

_ After a few painful minutes of yelling and waving his arms, the lion responds. Slowly opening its jaw, a head cautiously peeks out. “Give me one good reason to trust you, you filthy…” The pilot's voice trails off, as they seem to favor staring at Shiro over talking to him.  _

 

_ “I’m sorry that I startled you,” Shiro says, “I’m a paladin of Voltron. My goal is to bring peace to the universe. Doing so is kinda hard without all of Voltron being present.” When the pilot fails to respond, Shiro takes it as a sign to keep talking. “My name is Takashi Shirogane. Everyone just calls me Shiro. I’m from Earth. Where are you from?”  _

 

_ The pilot fails to answer his question and instead asks questions of his own. “Are you  _ really  _ from Earth? Are you  _ really  _ human?”  _

 

_ “I am,” Shiro assures him. “Can I come up? This hill is pretty dangerous.” _

 

_ After a few moments of silence, Red lowers her head so Shiro can board. Just behind her mouth, the Red pilot stands, ready to lend him a helping hand. Just as Shiro reaches for his hand, he pulls it back. “Before I let you on, I need you to answer a few questions. Is Alfor and his daughter still alive? What is his daughter like?”  _

 

_ “Alfor’s been dead for a while,” Shiro replies, “As for Allura, she is very much alive. Although, she just recently awoke from a 10,000 year nap. She’s very kind…. She’s one of the nicest aliens I’ve ever met. Well, she’s one of few aliens I’ve met…” _

 

_ “Thanks for answering my questions, Shiro,” the Red pilot says, re-offering his hand to Shiro. Shiro graciously accepts it, and Keith helps pull him into Red. It isn’t until Shiro is in Red’s brightly lit interior that he is able to clearly see what the Red pilot looks like.  _

 

_ The Red pilot has no scales, fur or feathers. He has no extra limbs... “You’re human!” Shiro exclaims.  _

 

_ “Half human, actually,” the Red pilot says, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “How’d you end up in space? How’d you end up being a paladin of Voltron? Where is the rest of Voltron?”  _

 

_ Shiro can’t help but laugh at the Red pilot, who gazes at him with wide, mesmerized eyes.  _

_ “Woah, woah, one question at a time!” WIth a brief pause, Shiro adds, “before I answer any of your questions, tell me what your name is.”  _

 

_ “My name is Keith.”  _

 

Red skips to the next important memory. 

 

_ “I just realized something,” Lance says, waving his hands about. Keith has yet to figure out what the hand movements mean… Humans, and Lance in particular, seem fond of moving their hands while they speak. “Keith told us that he is half human. If he’s half human, what’s the other half? And before you say ‘half alien,’ that response isn’t good enough.”  _

 

_ “You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to,” Hunk assures Keith, who throws Lance a dirty look.  _

 

_ “Actually he does,” Allura says, her voice razor sharp. “The same bounty hunters keep finding us, although we should have lost them long ago. How could they find us unless you were part Galra? Or, at the very least, helping the Galra?”  _

 

_ A sudden fire burns in Keith eyes. Despite this, Keith is slow to speak. “What does being Galra have to do with anything? Neither of the bounty hunters chasing us are Galra. Do you have something against the Galra, princess?”  _

 

_ Before Allura can reply, Pidge does. Their response is accompanied with a face twisted in confusion. “Didn’t Allura tell you? We’re fighting the Galra because they’re evil. They raid, capture and kill. Their goal is universal domination. The Galra race is our enemy. All of them are evil.” With a pause, they add, “Even if Allura didn’t tell you this, you should know. After all, you’re half alien and have been living in space.”  _

 

_ At Pidge’s words, everyone gazes at Keith with wary eyes. Suddenly, they don’t trust him. The sudden shift frustrates them. Although unknown to them, he’s the only one they can truly trust. Well, unknown to most of them. As soon as he finishes eating, Keith retreats to his room. Shiro is quick to follow.  _

 

_ “I want you to be honest with me,” Shiro says. While Keith sits on his bed, Shiro stands as far away from him as the small bedroom allows. “You know something we don’t. Or you think you know something we don’t. Either way, I want to you to tell me what you know.” Keith knows that Shiro’s words are more of an order than a request. Despite this, he retaliates.  _

 

_ “You have no reason to trust me, and I have no reason to trust you,” Keith says. He can’t bring himself to look Shiro in the eyes. Part of him, despite having only known Shiro for a month, trusts him. Or rather, wants to trust him. Although sneaking communications to the base and his mother, he feels lonely. He craves friendship. He craves family. He thought he found both but now he’s not so sure… Allura has proven to be quite intelligent and manipulative. Due to Allura’s magical abilities and the isolation of the paladins, they believe whatever she tells them. Except for Shiro. Why doesn’t Shiro believe her? _

 

_ Shiro responds to Keith’s outburst with a heavy sigh. “I understand why you’re frustrated, Keith. Everyone else trusts Allura. Hell, I trust Allura for the most part. However, ever since being a prisoner of the Galra, I have found myself unable to fully trust any alien. And before you say anything, I consider you an exception. You’re half alien and… Well, there’s something about you that seems honest and trustworthy.”   _

 

_ Shiro’s words are anything but expected. Struggling to overcome his shock, Keith stammers “I-In that case… I uhh… need to tell you something. Actually, it might be better for you to hear it from someone else… I’d have to take you somewhere. Are you willing to leave the castle ship to learn the truth?”  _

 

_ Shiro hesitates ever so briefly before saying, “I am.”  _

 

Red, to Shiro’s annoyance, fast forwards. He’d love to see more of Keith’s memories… He’d love to see every little detail but Red won’t let him. Although agitated, Shiro can’t blame her. She doesn’t have the time to share every little memory with him. 

 

_ “It’s nice to see you again, Kolivan, Sinnak” Shiro greets nodding at each Galra turn. The two, quite unusually, are dressed in simpler suits. These suits help them blend in with the average alien - Well, help them get as close as blending in as being purple and clearly Galra will allow.  _

 

_ “That it is,” Kolivan replies, while Sinnak hands Keith a large bag. The bag is a plain drawstring bag - A bag that is so cheap to purchase that it’s practically free. “This bag contains the books you requested. I am glad you’ve decided to learn the truth about the war.”  _

 

_ Keith is quick to pass the bag off to Shiro. With a small smile, he approaches Sinnak. Shifting his gaze from Kolivan to Sinnak, Shiro notices just how similar they two are in appearance - With them having near identical face markings and similar hair colors. “I’m scared, Mom,” Keith whispers. At this, Sinnak wraps her arms around him.  _

 

_ Before she can comfort him, Shiro’s voice fills the air. “You should be.” His voice sounds dark, ominous and slightly accented. No one seems to pick up on the accent. At his words, Keith and his mother seperate, drawing their weapons. Keith activates his bayard while his mother draws her staff. Spinning it at an inhuman speed, she snarls a warning. “Focus, Shiro. That’s not you talking. That’s Allura. Come back to us, Shiro. Or at the very least, come back to Keith.”  _


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

12

 

Shiro both does and doesn’t want to see what happens next. Sensing his conflicting emotions, Red refuses to show him the carnage of the fight. However, she shows Keith after the fight… A battered and bruised Keith. A Keith who looks as though he was nearly killed, and witnessed the death of those he loves. A Keith held captive by Allura. A Keith injected with a mysterious, glowing liquid…  Shiro can't bring himself to watch anymore. 

 

“My voice was slightly accented… Are you trying to tell me that the person who killed Kolivan, Sinnak and nearly killed Keith isn’t me? If so, who was it?”

 

To Shiro’s horror, Red shows who was injecting Keith with the strange liquid… It is an Altean with all too familiar orange hair.  

 

“Coran,” Shiro hisses, his body suddenly feeling as hot as lava. “He’s just as bad as Allura, if not worse.” Although Shiro has a feeling he doesn’t want to know the answer, he adds, “and the one that fused you and Matt together… Was that Coran as well?”

 

Red confirms his suspicions but spares him the gory details. However, she informs him that Altean magic was used. This fact makes Shiro’s anger morph into fear. “Does that mean only Allura or Coran can undo what has been done?”

 

Shiro  _ swears _ Red laughs at him.  _ “I can’t speak for your Haggar, but our Haggar is Altean.”  _

 

Shiro should be surprised. But he isn’t, after all such a fact would explain Haggar’s pointy ears and angular facial features. “In that case, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Haggar will separate you two and Pidge will make a robot body for Matt.” Shiro only realizes the flaw in his plan after finishing his sentence. With the gravity of the situation becoming painfully clear, Shiro realizes that there’s no more time to wait… There’s no more time to wait in Mni-Voltron while Ignis chats with Matt. There’s no time for him to wait for the others to figure out a solution. He doesn’t have time to think of his own solution either. The only thing he has time for is action.

 

Slamming a button that puts the top half of Mini-Voltron on autopilot, Shiro focuses on steering the legs… Making the legs run. A chorus of shouts crackles through the radio, with the loudest voice being Ignis. “What the hell are you doing? You were told to stay here!”

 

“I’m going to get the help we need in order to save Matt and us all. If you don’t believe me, ask Red,” Shiro replies, before muting the radio. He doesn’t want to hear what Ignis has to say. He has a feeling that his words that would be distracting. Or worse, painful. 

 

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Shiro focuses on putting as much distance between himself and the base as possible. If he’s going to try to get Black to listen to him and find him, he doesn’t want to lead Voltron to the base. As Shiro flies, he can’t help but wonder how he is going to tell if he put enough distance between himself and the base. Thinking so hard that he can feel a headache coming on, Shiro finally comes up with a solution. Shiro reaches out to the one person that trusts him. Well, the only lion that trusts him. 

 

“I”m here,” Red purrs. Her response is surprisingly fast. “You’re within my reach, but you shouldn’t be. I’ll guide you away. Follow the memories.”

 

Before Shiro can ask her what she could possibly mean, he sees something.. A circle in the distance that seems to be playing a movie. “A memory,” Shiro whispers in awe, “Red is projecting a memory!” Accelerating towards it, Shiro soon finds himself flying through it… He finds himself immersed. 

 

_ “...And that’s where the showers are. I know the ship seems big and scary at first, but it isn’t all that complicated.” Shiro concludes, giving Keith a reassuring pat on the back. “I hope you can grow to be comfortable here.” Keith doesn’t respond. Unfazed by Keith’s lack of a reaction, Shiro continues to talk. “We all have our differences but that doesn’t mean we can’t along… It doesn’t mean we can’t support and comfort each other.” _

 

_ Shiro’s words are painful for Keith to hear. Shiro has no idea… He has no idea what Allura and Coran are capable of. He doesn’t know who truly captured and tortured him. He doesn’t know who the real enemy is. The whole situation would be a lot less complicated and frustrating if Shiro wasn’t being tricked. If he wasn’t being brainwashed… Just what have Allura and Coran been up to? Just what will they attempt to do? Keith shivers at the possibilities.  _

 

_ Shiro is quick to notice Keith’s shiver. “Oh, are you cold? Maybe you should go rest… Do you remember where your bedroom is?” Shiro’s voice is so soft and genuine that Keith finds himself relaxing… Finds himself willing to trust Shiro. _

 

_ “I...Umm,” Keith seems hesitant to admit he needs help. “I don’t. Could you show me where it is again?” Shiro flashes Keith a bright smile, before walking him to his bedroom. It isn’t until Keith has closed the door behind him that Shiro realizes that Keith had been walking faster than him… That he had been doing the leading, instead of the other way around.  _

 

Shiro exits the memory almost as quickly as he entered it. The memory projection and immersion impresses Shiro. He never thought a thing was possible. Whispering a “thank you” to Red, who may or may not hear him, Shiro continues to follow the memory trail. Pushing the Mini-Voltron to go as fast as possible, Shiro finds himself bursting through a large number of memories in a matter of minutes. 

 

_ “I know we haven’t know each other for very long,” Shiro whispers, upon encountering Keith in the hallway. Both of them are clad in pajamas. “But if something is bothering you, you can tell me.”  _

 

_ Keith chews his bottom lip as he thinks. He knows he can’t tell Shiro the truth but he wants to. Shiro has been nothing but kind to him since they’ve met… Knowing very well that Shiro won’t be worry-free until he says something, Keith decides to fib. Well, not so much fib as leave out a few details.  _

 

_ “Have you,” Keith says, walking away. He hopes that Shiro will realize that he wants to talk somewhere more private. Jogging briefly in order to catch up with Keith, they end up at the bridge of the ship. Raising his voice ever so slightly, Keith says, “Have you ever done something for the greater good? Something that’s dangerous… Something that’s scary? Something that stresses you out, tires you out and makes you regret doing it in the first place?”  _

 

_ Shiro gazes at Keith with wide eyes. He had not expected this kind of problem. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, Keith,” Shiro admits. “But whatever you’ve gone through and whatever you’re going through, know that you’re not alone. You have friends to rely on. You don’t have to give me all of the details now, but I’d like you to eventually. I’d like to help you. Will you let me help you?” _

 

_ Despite knowing that trusting Shiro could put his life and the life of many others in danger, he decides to take the risk. Even though Allura is brainwashing him, he doesn’t seem as far gone as his friends. Shiro still seems to be himself. He still seems to be a man with a strong moral compass and the ability to sniff out the truth. “Yes.” _

 

The memory ends and is replaced far too soon for Shiro’s liking. 

 

_ “This is the second time in one week that you’ve woken up in the middle of the night,” Shiro says, all the while motioning for Keith to sit on his bed. Keith sits on the very edge, with his back straight. He seems to be both tense and uncomfortable. “Are you sure you don’t have something that you want to talk about? You can talk to me about anything.” Shiro gradually softens his voice. “Let me help you.” _

 

_ Keith loses it. He sobs into his hands, vainly attempting to hide his puffy eyes from Shiro. “I j-just,” he stammers, “need s-someone to hold me and to tell me that everything is going to be okay.” _

 

_ Keith can hear the ruffling of blankets from behind him. Soon after the ruffles, the bed creaks, signaling that Shiro has stood up. The soft thudding of footsteps confirm that Shiro has risen and is walking around the bed. _

 

_ Shiro crouches in front of Keith and asks, “can I touch you?”  Keith can only bring himself to nod. Shiro gently wraps his arms around Keith and pulls him in for a hug.  _

 

Memory after memory passes, with Shiro craving for more. He wishes it would never end. His wishing accomplishes nothing. Instead, it leaves him alone in space with an aching heart. Keith didn't deserve to have such awful things to happen to him. Hell, none of his fellow paladins or his Galra friends deserved to have such awful things. 

 

Shiro may have not been able to prevent such horrid events, but he’ll end them. Putting his heart and soul into it, he beckons to Black. “Come to me, your true paladin.” 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

13

 

Black finds him, but not in the way Shiro expects. Instead of literally meeting him (and therefore bringing all of Voltron with him) Black meets him on the astral plane. Although the astral plane lacks the mixed purple and blue colors that it had when he met with Matt, Shiro can tell that something is off. Even though the plane looks like a normal night sky something about it unnerves him.There’s something about the serenity that seems forced… As though something is going to fall from the sky or burst out of the ground at any moment. 

 

Shiro’s feelings don’t steer him wrong. Black descends from the sky at an alarming rate. Shiro fears that Black might crash. However, at the last moment Black manages to skid as she lands, preventing herself from crashing face first into the ground. It’s as though Black is struggling to control herself. Then again, maybe Black isn’t alone. Maybe  _ someone _ is struggling to control Black. 

 

“Allura,” Shiro whispers, just as a familiar figure steps out of Black’s mouth. Although Allura’s overall appearance is familiar, her face is different… Bags under her eyes serve as signs of a lack of sleep, yet her gaze is as sharp as a hawk. Her hair is shorter as well, with it ending just above her chin. The most shocking and noticeable difference is the color of her eye markings. Although normally a soft pink, her markings are more red… more like the color of blood. 

 

“You should be dead” Allura says, her voice hollow. 

 

“Why should I be dead?” Shiro asks, even though he’s sure he doesn’t want to know the answer. 

 

“Because I killed you,” is Allura’s blunt reply. 

 

“Why did you do it?” Shiro asks. Surely there must be a way for him to break through to her… To get her to be herself. But how? Shiro isn’t sure how to help her. 

 

“I did it because I had no choice.”. 

 

“Why did you have no choice? Did I do something wrong? Did Coran…” Shiro lets his voice trail off. No matter what Red showed him, he can’t bring himself to accuse Coran of wrongdoing in front of her. Coran is her uncle, the only family that she has left… Then again, is he  _ really _ the only family she has left? Even though they aren’t from the same planet or even the same time period, surely he and the rest of Voltron must count for something. 

 

“You may not have seen it before, and you may not see it now, but you always have a choice, Allura. Your current choice is to hear me out or…” Shiro doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before Allura runs towards him. Lashing out with her staff, Allura aims for his head. Her aim is spot-on, but Shiro prevents her from cracking his skull open by blocking the blow with his Galra arm. Swiftly pulling her staff downwards, Allura manages to land a hit on his left leg before he even has a chance to blink. The blow is enough to make him fall to his knees. 

 

Pulling her staff back, Allura aims for his head once again. Unlike the first time, Shiro doesn’t just block the blow with his Galra arm. Instead, he grabs the staff and pulls. The motion isn’t enough to make Allura fall, but it is enough to make her stumble. This gives Shiro just enough time to get back onto his feet.

 

“We don’t have to fight, Allura,” Shiro says, as Allura aims for his head yet again. Although expecting such a reaction, Shiro is slow to block her blow. Due to this, the staff painfully scrapes against the side of his face. Gritting his teeth, Shiro jumps back. “We can talk this out. Just hear me out.” Allura just keeps swinging and swinging. 

 

When Allura knocks him off his feet, Shiro finds himself begging. “ _ Please  _ don’t do this.  _ Please  _ listen to me, Allura!”

 

To his surprise, Allura hesitates. Knowing that he doesn’t have enough time to get back on his feet, he does the next best thing. He uses his human hand to grab ahold of one of her ankles. With a determined shout, he attempts to do what Matt did with him earlier. He attempts to share memories. 

 

_ “I wish to learn some Earth curse words,” Allura says, all the while scooting her chair closer to his. Shiro isn’t sure why such an action is necessary. None of the other paladins or Coran wake up as early as they do. Then again, none of them are as tired and frustrated as them. Both of them have been deeply hurt and forced to grow up too fast. On top of that, they’ve been forced to become leaders, role-models even. _

 

_ Shiro shifts his gaze from the food goo, to Allura’s excited face and back again. Although not one to be fond of talking so early in the morning, Shiro is more than happy to have a valid excuse to avoid eating food goo. “Is there any sort of swear that you’d like to learn first? Perhaps the Earth, or rather English equivalent of quiznak?” _

 

_ Shiro’s last sentence gains Allura’s attention. “Yes, yes what is the English version of quiznak? Oh I just have to know!” Shiro utters the swear, earning him a surprisingly evil giggle from Allura. “Coran is going to be very upset that I learned it first. I can not wait to use it. Everyone but Coran will know what it means!”  _

 

_ Even though he is barely awake, Shiro emits a hearty laugh.  _

 

Shiro doesn’t show the memories in any particular order. Rather, he just lets his mind wander. 

 

_ “Princess,” Shiro wheezes, out of breath. A mass horde of Galra soldiers are hot on their tail. “The escape pod is this way. If we hurry, we can escape.” Allura acknowledges his words with a nod, before dashing ahead. With her long legs carrying her farther and faster than his legs ever could, Shiro utters a few choice words. Who knew that he, the mighty Black Paladin, could be such a burden? _

 

_ Shiro isn’t sure how Allura senses that he’s in trouble, but she does. Spinning on her heels, she dashes back to him. Blasting the soldiers nearest him away with a stolen gun, she soon drops it in favor of carrying him. Slinging him over her shoulder, she dashes back to the escape pod. Although Allura is the strongest person he knows, Shiro is painfully aware of the fact that his added weight slows her down.  _

 

_ To his horror, Allura is aware of such a fact as well. Just before Galra soldiers yank her back, she throws him into the escape pod, and slams the door closed. _

 

Shiro shows her one last memory. 

 

_ “I never imagined a future like this,” Allura admits.“I never imagined a future where I would lead the paladins of Voltron… Where’d I’d meet humans or…” Her voice trails off as her eyes grow watery, “that my family would both shrink and grow. Although the past may haunt me, although I regret involving you all in these dangerous endeavours, I am honored to have met you all. You all are kind, brave people. I do not know what I would do without you.” Giving them all one last, hug, she sends them on their way. “Now is your time to shine. Save the universe, Voltron!”  _

 

The memory doesn’t so much as fade as it shatters, with his vision quickly replaced with the astral plane… With the alternate Allura falling to her knees and crying. “Don’t you see?” Shiro whispers, “You’re capable of great evil  _ and  _ great good. All you have to do is open your mind and heart.” 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Volleycatnika, upload by Meteorysh _(:3

14

 

Even though Shiro knows better than to let down his guard, he does. He lets Allura hold him… He lets her hold onto him as though he could slip through her arms at any given moment. Although just days ago Shiro would’ve thought such an idea was ridiculous, he feels that her concerns are warranted now… With him having traveled to an alternate reality where everything is the opposite. “I’m sorry that I’m not your Shiro,” he whispers. “I’m sorry that no one was able to help you sooner.” 

 

Allura replies in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. “There is no need for you to apologize, Shiro. After all, it is my duty to protect and guide Voltron, not yours.” 

 

“I don’t agree,” Shiro replies, “but we don’t have time to argue. Are you going to be okay? Coran can’t take control of you again, can he?” No matter how much better Allura seems, he can’t help but worry about a relapse. 

 

“He won’t,” Allura says, her voice strained. “I can’t believe he used me and the rest of Voltron…” Allura momentarily tightens her hold on him before letting him go. “The memories you shared unlocked some of my own, and some of Black’s… We’re supposed to be good. We’re supposed to be good, yet we’ve.. We’ve…” Allura can’t even bring herself to discuss the awful things they’ve done. 

 

“There’s always been good in you, Allura. It just took you a while to see it.” With Allura no longer holding him, he is able to get back onto his feet. Once on his feet, he flashes Allura a small smile. “With that good, you can help me. Will you distract the paladins so I can deal with Coran?”

 

She flashes him a small smile of her own. “Of course, Shiro.” Shifting her gaze from Black, to him, to back again, she adds, “Take Black. You need her more than I do.” Tapping him on the shoulder, she switches outfits with him. He is now wearing the Black Paladin armor, and she is wearing the BOM suit. “You stand the highest chance of defeating him by fighting him in the real world. Fly to him, Shiro. I’ll take care of the rest.” 

 

Silence envelopes them. It is a silence that says more than any goodbye could. With a small wave, Shiro leaves the astral plane. He knows that she’s strong. He knows that she can face the rest of the team but he’s still nervous. Hopefully she can talk to them, or share her memories with them. Hopefully she won’t have to hurt them, or get hurt herself. 

 

Sensing Shiro’s feelings of nervousness and worry, Black emits a comforting purr. Her purr seems to say  _ You may not be my Shiro, but you are still Shiro. Therefore, I trust you. Therefore, I care for you.  _ “Thanks, Black,” Shiro whispers, while flying towards the castle ship. Shiro both loves and hates how quickly they reach the castle ship. Entering the hangar without incident, Shiro whispers a thank you to Black before entering the familiar halls of the castle.

 

Knowing that this Pidge is just as tech savvy as his own, Shiro doesn’t even bother trying to hide. Pidge likely has a vast array of cameras and other security systems that make hiding pointless. With his footsteps sounding like thunder in an otherwise silent ship, Shiro can’t help but hope that Allura has managed to distract all of the paladins. Or, at the very least, distract most of them. Shiro will fight them if he has to, but he’d rather not. He’d rather talk to them… 

 

“Shiro,” a voice says in an unreadable tone. “What are you doing here?” Slowly turning around, Shiro finds himself face to face with Pidge. Their armor looks battered and worn… As if they’ve been in a lot of tough fights. Or perhaps more accurately, as if they’ve gone to hell and back. If their worn armor wasn’t worrisome enough, they have a scar that runs along the left side of their jaw. 

 

Despite knowing how annoying it is to do so, he answers their question with a question. “Why do you think I’m here?” At his response, Pidge’s poker face temporarily crumbles, with it being replaced by a twisted, confused expression. It’s an expression that serves as a sign that the Pidge he knows is in there… The Pidge that is capable of good. 

 

“Thinking isn’t always necessary,” Pidge says. Their words, despite having come from their own mouth, aren’t something that they would say. In fact, Shiro doubts Pidge would ever think such a thing. “However, action is. Prepare to die, Shiro.” Pidge’s last words send a freezing cold shiver down his spine. 

 

“You don’t have to do this,” Shiro insists, even though he doubts Pidge will listen, “We can talk it out. Hell, we could even hug it out.” With a brief pause, he adds, “So what do you say, Pidge? Can we treat each other like friends?” 

 

“I have no friends,” is Pidge’s immediate response, “only allies and enemies. In case you weren’t aware, you’re the latter.” The underlying sass - the underlying evidence of the true Pidge - tugs at Shiro’s heartstrings. Without waiting for a response, Pidge raises their arms. Shiro can’t help but find it strange to see Pidge go on the defensive when their words indicate that they wanted to go on the offensive. 

 

Pidge’s gaze, which had been focused on him, shifts ever so slightly. With this shift making them more focused on what is behind Shiro rather than Shiro himself, Shiro turns just in time to block what could’ve been a fatal blow from one of the Altean training robots. Having a feeling that a training bot controlled by Pidge is at least twice as dangerous as a normal Altean training bot, Shiro wastes no time attacking it. With one fast (and slightly panicked) motion, he cuts its head off. To his horror, this doesn’t faze the bot. Desperate to kill it before it can take another swing at him, Shiro punches its chest, creating a fist sized hole. It’s only when Shiro pulls his arm out of the hole that the robot crumbles. 

 

Before Shiro can turn back to face Pidge, who he really shouldn’t have turned his back to in the first place, a bot drops down from the ceiling. A bot also emerges from the floor, and another crawls out from between two panels in the wall. If facing three bots (plus Pidge) wasn’t difficult enough, Shiro can see at least three more bots running toward him from the end of the hallway. 

 

The robot nearest Shiro, which happens to be the one that dropped from the ceiling, wields two swords. Each sword is made of some sort of glowing material that reminds him of lava. That is, if lava was an Altean blue. Shiro has a feeling the swords could both cut and burn him. Some of the other bots carry unconventional (and terrifying) weapons, such as a staff that crackles with electricity. Although determined to save Pidge and the rest of Voltron, Shiro can’t shake the feeling that there is an extremely high chance that he may die before he can accomplish anything.

 

Before Shiro can take a single swing, another bot drops from the ceiling. This bot is different from the rest, with its blue and gold accents replaced with orange and purple. The bot is soon followed by a figure clad in a familiar dark suit. Shiro finds himself unable to ask what he is thinking.  _ Is that robot Matt? Is that other figure Keith?  _ “Your hero is arrived! Try not to swoon as I save the day,” the bot jokes.  _ Yep, definitely Matt.  _

 

“Don’t just stand there,” the other figure hisses.  _ Yep, definitely Keith.  _ “Get going! We can handle them and Pidge!” Slicing off the head of a nearby robot, Ignis adds, “If you don’t leave now I’ll kill you myself!”

 

“I can’t leave, you need me,” Shiro says before ducking to avoid getting his head chopped off. “The only way to get them out of Coran’s control is to share positive memories with them… Memories showing them that they are capable of good.”

 

“I can do that,” Matt shouts in order to be heard over the clashing of swords, “now get going!” Not waiting to be told yet again, Shiro spins on his heels and pushes his way past Pidge. Pidge doesn’t do anything to stop him - They’re too busy trying to stop Matt and Ignis. Pidge fighting their own brother… Shiro hopes that this is the first and last time the two fight each other.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to support the artist for this fic!
> 
> artist twitter: [https://twitter.com/Meteorysh](url)  
> artist tumblr:[http://meteorysh.tumblr.com/](url)

15 

 

Shiro can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he passes through the main corridor where all of the bedrooms are located with no resistance. Well, almost no resistance. Ever since his fight with Pidge, he has encountered the occasional training bot in the otherwise silent, empty hallways. 

 

The emptiness should comfort Shiro, but it doesn’t. Instead, the silence seems to amplify his thoughts, feelings, and the beating of his heart. With every step he takes, he comes closer to Coran. Shiro wishes he could avoid Coran. Coran, who in this universe, is an evil man instead of the good, “gorgeous man” Shiro knows. Shiro can’t help but wonder why this Coran is different. Why is this Coran, who should be smart, goofy and loveable, act as though his heart is made of ice. Or perhaps more accurately, acts as though he has no heart at all?

 

With the thundering sound of his heartbeat ringing within his ears, and with his footsteps sounding like a death march, Shiro enters the control room. Quickly scanning the room for Coran, he is surprised to find the room empty. He can hardly imagine Coran wanting to be anywhere else... He can’t imagine Coran hiding. With his Galra arm softly glowing, Shiro slowly walks around the room. Although the room is primarily open space, with only the paladin chairs to serve as potential hiding spots, Shiro can’t shake the feeling that Coran is in the room. It is only when Shiro has walked the entire room, checking behind each chair, that he realizes his mistake. He never looked up. Raising his gaze to look at the ceiling, Shiro finds himself looking at a falling a figure. Or rather, a jumping figure. No matter the way Coran chose to descend from a ceiling fixture, he’s descending rapidly. Jumping backwards to avoid having Coran fall onto him, Shiro prepares himself for the worst. Afterall, before him is a Coran that is willing to hurt and kill. Before him is a Coran that is willing to manipulate those close to him to get what he wants. Before him is a Coran that…  _ That isn’t Coran at all.  _

 

Despite being clad in the Altean royal colors, which consist of shades of blue and white, the man before him isn’t Coran. He is far too tall to be Coran. His purple skin is nowhere close to Coran’s pale complexion, and his hair is likely lighter and whiter than Coran’s will ever be. 

 

“Lotor,” Shiro hisses, his voice so sharp his tongue may as well be one of the swords Lotor wields. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

 

“And you are supposed to be in your  _ own  _ reality, not this one,” Lotor replies, his lips curled into an amused smirk. “Nothing appears to have gone to plan, has it? The situation has become quite complicated for the both of us.”

 

“You have some explaining to do, Lotor. How are you still alive? How long have you been pretending to be Coran?” Shiro replies, his gaze never leaving Lotor’s face. Before a man so dangerous, he can’t afford to show fear or hesitation.

 

Lotor giggles- It’s a sudden, high pitched sound that makes Shiro’s stomach do somersaults. “You ask the silliest of questions, Shiro! I think the questions you should be asking are, ‘how could you ever die?’ and ‘when haven’t you pretended to be Coran?’ Honestly, Shiro, you should know the answers to these questions.” When Shiro fails to reply, he laughs yet again. “Do I need to spell it out for you? If I need to, I will. However, I would prefer you to do some thinking.”

 

Suddenly, it all clicks. “You pretended to be dead…” Shiro gasps, “You killed your own father! How could you kill your own father?”

 

Lotor’s smirk widens into a smile. “That is correct. Killing him was quite easy. I cared for my mother more than him. My dear mother was an Altean diplomat. During the early years of the war, she attempted to get my father to see reason… She tried to get him to agree to a convergence of the two royal families and the territories they controlled. Although such a deal would greatly favor Alteans, with it making a majority of Galra territory Altean, it would guarantee no lives would be lost. However, my father would not hear of it. He refused to come to any sort of deal. He even rejected one where the percentage was closer to, but not quite half.”

 

“I can’t blame him for not agreeing to such awful terms,” Shiro mutters. Although Lotor’s eyes twitch, indicating that he heard Shiro’s mumblings, he speaks as though he didn’t.

 

“Naturally this only led to the war lasting longer, and becoming more intense. Closer to the time of his death, my father was near victory, but he didn’t know it,” with a brief pause, Lotor adds, “The old fool cared for me far too much to be able to make it out alive. If only he had focused more on attacking, instead of talking…” Lotor allows his voice to trail off briefly before speaking once again. “Someone else I know has the same issue. Well, not the same exact issue... You don’t care for me. You  _ hate _ me. However, I can think of at least eight people you care for.”

 

“Don’t you  _ dare _ bring them into this more than you already have,” Shiro shouts, scowling at Lotor, “If you bring them into this once again, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

 

Lotor drops his swords. He does so quite literally, the swords falling to the ship floor with a loud clatter. Before Shiro can blink, Lotor morphs and twists. Lotor becomes someone else, someone familiar. Lotor even manages to change his attire. Clad in tattered clothes, Sam says, “You can’t kill a man that’s already dead, Shiro.” 

 

_ Humming an upbeat tune, the guard wanders around the cell, before stopping in front of the resting figure of Sam Holt. WIth a swift kick to the gut, the guard wakens Sam. “Now is your time to shine, filth.” _

 

_ “No, not him!” Matt shouts, “Pick anyone but him. Take me! I was the one talking!” When the guard appears to be unfazed by Matt’s shouting, he resorts to begging. Groveling beside the guard’s booted feet, Matt adds, “I was the one talking. I should be the one punished. Let me take his place. Please let me take his place!” _

 

“You aren’t him,” Shiro says. He’s unsure if he’s trying to speak to Lotor or convince himself. Either way he can feel himself shaking, crumbling…

 

“Why,” Sam twists, becoming Matt, “did,” with each word, Lotor becomes a different person. Starting with Sam and Matt, he turns into Allura, Coran and each paladin until only Keith is left. “... you leave me?” When it comes to Keith, Lotor appears to be glitching, with him constantly going back and forth from looking like the human Keith, to a purple, furry version of him. “Why did you hurt me?  _ Why, why, why _ ?”

“I d-didn’t,” Shiro stammers, tears making his eyes sting, “I didn’t m-mean to… Shut up, L-Lotor!” 

 

“Oh yes you did,” Lotor insists, his body twisting until he looks like an exact copy of Shiro. “You did it because you because you enjoy the feeling of blood on your hands and glory in your heart.” As he speaks, he wraps his hands around Shiro’s throat. After watching Shiro squirm for a while, he adds, “As far as the universe is considered you’re just like me, a heartless killing machine.”

 

Before Shiro can reply, or rather attempt to, since he’s slowly losing air, Lotor emits an ear piercing scream. The pain, caused by a knife buried deep within his shoulder forces him to return to his normal state - To look like himself. “Get your filthy hands off him,” Ignis snarls. For once, his mask is off. For once, he’s showing his face. “You’re a traitor, Lotor. Traitors deserve to die.”


	16. Chapter 16

16 

 

Lotor rips the knife out of his shoulder, and throws it back at its owner. Ignis somehow manages to catch it the knife by the hilt, making an already annoyed Lotor even more upset. “Do you honestly think a freak like you could kill me?” Lotor emits a forced laugh. “You are delusional,  _ Keith. _ Oh wait, I mean Ignis. You changed your name to separate yourself from the pain - The pain from having your mother and uncle killed in front of you.” Backtracking to pick up the swords he dropped earlier, he adds, “It’s such a shame all of your actions were for nothing. After all, you were punishing the wrong person. Now you may never see this Shiro, or your Shiro again…  _ Oh how it must hurt. _ ” 

 

Ignis emits a growl so deep, angry and, well, primal, that it sends a shiver down Shiro’s spine. Shiro notices that the sound makes Lotor’s hands shake ever so slightly. “Do us all a favor and shut up,” Ignis replies, striding over to Lotor. “If you don’t know how to shut up, I’ll make you. After all, the dead are pretty quiet.” 

 

“Oh, you’re all bark and no bite,” Lotor sneers, “After all, there’s only so much you can do with that knife.” 

 

“You think that I’m the fool,” Ignis says, all the while running a hand along the blade of his knife, “but you’re the true fool. The blades of Marmora respond to their wielder and can change… They can become powerful, large blades such as swords. Such a sword, paired with my bayard makes me a worthy foe. Or perhaps better put, it makes me your worst nightmare.”

 

“He also has me,” Shiro says, once his head is no longer spinning. “I won’t let you get away.” With a deep breath to ground himself, he adds, “and I won’t let you hurt him again. Surrender or die.” By the time that Shiro stops talking, they’re all close… So close they could hit each other with ease. In a blur of movement, arms swing and swords clash. As sparks fly, the clashing of metal repeatedly ringing in his ears, Shiro grows desperate. He can’t tell what his arm is hitting, or if it’s hitting anything at all. They’re all punching, kicking, slicing and spinning far too fast. 

 

After minutes of frenzied fighting, Lotor falls to his knees. At least, Shiro thinks it’s Lotor at first. The fallen figure gazes up at him, with Ignis’s face instead of Lotor’s. Quickly raising his gaze, Shiro finds another Ignis standing, gazing at him with a puzzled expression. “Just how many times are you going to do this, Lotor?” Shiro shouts. “Why can’t you fight as yourself? Why must you always fuck with me? Most importantly, why can’t you leave Keith out of this? Your fight is with me, not him.”

 

“Then fight me. Figure out who is who and fight me,” Lotor replies. Shiro isn’t sure how he does so, but Lotor projects his voice, making it impossible for him to use it to determine who is who.

 

Shiro hesitates before reacting… Before coming up with a way to determine who is who. “Where does the name ‘Ignis’ originate from, and what does it mean?” Shiro’s gaze shifts from Ignis to Ignis. Surprisingly, both wear the same, blank face.

 

“Ignis originates from  _ ignis fatuus _ or a will-o’-wisp. In relation to people, will-o’-wisp means someone who is hard to reach,” the fallen Ignis, the true Ignis, replies. “I hope that by the end of this we can go back to my first name, the name you know me by… If we make it out of here, please call me Keith.” Ignis’s facial expression cracks, showing a vulnerable man. 

 

With a mighty roar, Shiro shoves his hand through the standing “Ignis,” and is relieved to find that the “Ignis” returns to being Lotor upon receiving the fatal blow. With the blow killing him instantly, Lotor has no chance of uttering any last words - Even if he did, Shiro has a feeling he would make them cruel and painful. As Lotor’s lifeless body falls to the floor, Shiro finds himself falling as well. He falls right onto Ignis. Ignis is quick to wrap his arms around him.

 

“I knew you’d pull through,” Ignis whispers, as Shiro cries and shakes. For a split second, for a  _ terrifying  _ second, Shiro thought he made a mistake. He thought he killed the wrong Ignis. “Thank you for trusting me,” Ignis hesitate before adding, “ _ Takashi. _ ” Somehow his words affect them both - They both end up crying, and holding each other in their arms.

 

“Did you mean what you said?” Shiro asks, “Do you really want to go back to that name? Do you really want to trust me?”

 

“Yes,  _ god _ yes,” Keith wails, “I want you to. You’ve taught me so much… You’ve helped me so much.” With a brief pause, he adds, “When I first met you, I would’ve done anything to get you back to your own reality. Now, I’d do anything to get you to stay.”

 

“Keith,” Shiro has to reduce his voice to a whisper to prevent it from shaking, “I don’t know what to do. I love you - Both versions of you. But I can’t be with both of you and I can’t stay. After all, this isn’t my reality.”

 

Before Shiro can reply, Keith gives him a quick kiss on the lips. “I won’t tell you what to do, but know this. This reality could become yours. We could be happy,  _ Takashi. _ ”

 

“To be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Shiro replies, returning Keith’s kiss with a quick kiss of his own. “Such a big, life-changing decision isn’t something I should make right now. After all, right now, I should wash off my arm and check on everyone else.”

 

“That won’t be necessary,” a familiar voice chirps, resulting in Shiro and Keith shifting their gaze to the door. Pidge, a tired but smiling Pidge, is the first to speak. Behind them stands Lance, Hunk and Allura. “Well, the last part isn’t. We’ve come to you. We’ve come to show you that we’re okay.”

 

“Yep, we’re a-okay,” Lance says, stressing the ‘okay’. He, like Pidge, looks tired but manages to smile.

 

“We’re okay, thanks to you, Shiro but not  _ our  _ Shiro. Well, you could become our Shiro…” Hunk adds. “Alright, honesty time, I find this whole situation confusing. However, I know Shiro is Shiro, whether he’s from our reality or not. You can stay as little or as long as you like. As it is, it might be best that you’ve stayed until we’ve found our Shiro.” 

 

“Hunk makes an excellent point,” Allura says. Unlike the rest, she doesn’t smile. Instead she wears a tired and otherwise unreadable expression. “If we were to send you back while he was still in your reality, there is no telling what could happen.” Clearing her throat, she adds, “This is based off the assumption that he switched places with you, we do not know where he is.”

 

“Not to be a downer,” Matt says as he stumbles into the room, “but you could rip a hole into time and space itself. So it’s best that you stay here for now until we can locate our Shiro and coordinate a time for you two to return to your realties. We’d have to have you two switch again, at the same time, so we don’t all die.” As he speaks, sparks fly out from between his joints.

 

“It’s settled then,” Allura says, first helping Shiro up and then Keith. “You are staying with us for a while. I suppose it is for the best… We could use your help to formally end the war. You and Keith can help us write a peace agreement between the Galra, the Alteans, and, well, the whole universe. We also need to repair Matt, the ship and help Keith return to his purple-free self.” With a brief pause, she adds, “Now that I think about it, you would have to stay anyway… After all, we do not know how to get you home.”

 

“We’ve got a lot to do,” Lance says, making a face that indicates that he is both tired and low on patience. “blah blah blah - Can we just all have a group hug? We need to celebrate the fact we’re no longer evil and hurting each other… We even got Keith back. Keith, buddy,  _ my man,  _ let me be the first to hug you.” Without waiting for a response, Lance rushes over to Keith and hugs him. The expression on Keith’s face, wide eyed but smiling, is priceless. Wordlessly the rest of the paladins, Allura, Coran and Matt hug Keith. The last one to join the group hug is Shiro, who gets pulled in by Matt. 

 

“I will not let anything or anyone come between us again,” Allura says, earning herself murmurs of agreement. Before she can say anything else, Lance interrupts her.

 

“Before any of us can let go, we should do a group cheer. I think we should do my favorite,” his words earn him a small sigh from the group. “I say ‘Vol’ and the rest of you, yes that includes  _ you,  _ Keith, say ‘tron.’ On the count of three. One, two, three… ‘Vol-.”

 

“-tron,” everyone finishes, including Keith. Slowly releasing each other, words of instruction are uttered before everyone goes their separate ways, with healing and peace in mind. 

 


	17. Chapter 17

17 

 

Many of the members of the Blade of Marmora are slow to trust Shiro, despite learning that he is from another reality and that he killed Lotor. They are especially slow to trust Voltron, a group of people that had been causing widespread destruction just days before. Shiro knows the feelings of hesitation and distrust are warranted but it hurts nonetheless. He hates to see his friends in so much pain. He can tell that they truly regret the horrible things they did, even though they don’t remember doing a majority of it. Unsure of how to comfort them, he does the only thing he can think of… He shares more positive memories with them, and attempts to create new ones.

 

“I may have white hair but I’m not that old,” Shiro sighs, as the team exchanges possible nicknames for each other over dinner. Shiro can’t recall how they got to this topic but here they are, arguing over whether calling Shiro “space dad” is funny or fitting. “Also, why is ‘space dad’ your go to nickname? I expected something a little more original… Like ‘Oreo.’” With a brief pause, he adds, “God, I could go for some oreos right now.”

 

“Same,” Lance says. With a mischievous grin on his face, he adds, “Also, ‘Space Dad’ is fitting because you’re always looking out for us and you’re tired all the time.”

 

Shiro can’t help but laugh. “Are those really the only reasons I quality to be a ‘Space Dad?’” Before he can say more, Pidge interrupts him. 

 

“Now that the war is over, why don’t we go back to Earth? I know we need to help people rebuild and what not, but I don’t think a quick trip would hurt. Afterall, my poor mom probably thinks my brother and I are dead…” Pidge’s words darken the mood. 

 

“Yeah,” Hunk says, his voice cracking, “my family probably thinks I’m dead. The Garrison probably thinks we’re dead. When we go back, we have a lot of explaining to do…” Letting his voice momentarily trail off, he adds, “I can’t go back. I can’t tell them where I’ve been or what I’ve done. Oh god, the things I’ve done..” With a loud sniffle, Hunk excuses himself. Before Shiro can attempt to stop them, everyone but Keith retreats to their rooms.

 

With a tired sigh, Shiro pushes his food goo aside. He lost what little appetite he had, watching his friends walk away, with pained expressions on their faces. He wishes that there was more that he could do… How do you comfort someone who is experiencing unimaginable levels of regret and guilt?

 

Deciding to focus his efforts on the person in front of him, Shiro asks, “So, how are you holding up?” Resting his chin on his human hand, Shiro patiently waits for a response.

 

Hastily swallowing the food goo he had been chewing, Keith pushes his bowl aside before responding to Shiro. “I’m… I’m okay I guess. I don’t know, I feel like a mess. Between everything that’s happened, and the memory sharing, my brain has felt like it has been exploding and my heart… My heart has been doing weird things as well. I care for everyone on this ship, despite the things they’ve done.. I love you although I never should’ve met you. You weren’t meant to leave your reality, yet here you are.” Running a weary hand through his hair, he adds, “Everything has changed so quickly… It’s a lot to process. It’s a lot to process, yet I’m supposed to stay strong because I’m the co-leader of the Blade of Marmora.”

 

“You do know that staying strong and repressing your emotions aren’t the same thing, right? I’m not saying that you have to cry but you should let your emotions out,” Shiro says in a soft voice, “Or at the very least, talk about them.”

 

“I know,” Keith groans, burying his face in his hands, “but I don’t want to think about my emotions. I just want to enjoy the fact that the war is over and everyone is good again but I can’t. Just being with them brings back memories... Horrible memories. Despite these memories, I want to be with them.” With a shaky breath, he continues, “It would be easier to push them away, to hate them. But learning who was behind it all and upon seeing all of the good we’re capable of, I don’t want to push them away.”

 

“So don’t push them away,” Shiro says, “take baby steps. Spend time with them, but then give yourself some space. Just because you volunteered to monitor them doesn’t mean you have to spend every waking moment with them. They’re no longer evil. Haggar ran multiple tests and said there are no traces of Lotor’s magic left. They’re no longer being controlled. They’re back to their normal selves. You can trust them enough to not watch them 24/7. You can also trust me to watch them whenever you need a break.” Slowly moving shifting his position, Shiro uses his hands to reach out to Keith… To gently tug on Keith’s hands so they’re no longer covering his face. “You don’t have to stay on this ship. You can take Red flying, or visit the base. Do whatever will help you feel better.”

 

“I want to leave, but don’t at the same time,” Keith confesses. The more he speaks, the more he avoids looking Shiro in the eyes. “I’m afraid that if I leave I’ll lose them again… I’m afraid that they’ll become evil again, or that Lotor will somehow come back.” Keith takes a shaky breath before saying more. “I see him in my dreams. He laughs at me as he uses invisible strings to move everyone about. When he gets bored of that, he becomes you. He lures me close by acting normal. Once we’re close he changes. He torments me by making me watch him kill Kolivan and my mother over and over.”

 

Shiro isn’t sure what to say to that. To make up for what he can’t say, he acts. Slowly rising from him seat, he walks around the table to Keith’s side. Gently pulling Keith to his feet, Shiro wraps his arms around him. Keith melts into the embrace and buries his face in Shiro’s neck. “It’s so scary, Shiro. Even in death he’s inflicting pain, and trying to get me to hate you all.” Keith doesn’t speak further and instead cries quietly, his tears running down Shiro’s neck and onto his shirt.

 

After a few minutes of rubbing circles on Keith’s back, Shiro finds himself focusing on Keith’s Galra ears. His ears, with the purple color set aside, are surprisingly cat like. Unable to resist the urge to touch one, Shiro finds hims himself moving… Finds himself kissing one of Keith’s ears. His kiss earns him a soft gasp from Keith. “Did you just kiss my ear?”

 

“I did,” Shiro sheepishly replies. “Sorry, I should’ve asked first…”

 

To his surprise, Keith laughs. “It’s okay, Shiro. It just felt weird,” with a brief pause, he adds, “but weird in a good way. Will you… Could you, umm… Kiss the other one?”

 

With a laugh of his own, Shiro kisses Keith’s other ear. Just after he does so, Keith tightens their hug. In a quiet voice, he says, “Do you think we’ll ever get my body back to normal? I’m not ashamed to be part Galra but I want my old body back.”

 

“We will,” Shiro assures him, “between your research, Haggar’s knowledge and Allura’s ability to control quintessence, it’s only a matter of time. I know it’s hard, but try to stay positive. Everything will work out in the end.”

 

“I hope so,” Keith says, “I really hope so.” Slowly shifting the position of his head, Keith gives Shiro a quick kiss on the jaw. “Thanks for your help. I love Voltron, Antok, Haggar and even Varkon but I could never talk to them about this.” Giving his jaw a second kiss, Keith adds, “I hope you talk to me about what you’re feeling and thinking too. You don’t have to talk to me, but I would like it if you did. It would mean a lot, especially if you want these kisses to go somewhere.”

 

“Now that you no longer hate me, I’d love to talk to you,” Shiro jokes, trying to lighten the mood. When Keith doesn’t laugh, he awkwardly coughs. “I want to talk to you and I want these kisses to go somewhere, but I don’t want to upset you. The Galra are very different in my universe. They’ve done awful things to me. Do you really want to hear about that? It sounds like you have enough nightmares of your own.”

 

“That’s true,” Keith says, “but maybe there’s a chance that we can make each other’s nightmares go away.”


	18. Chapter 18

18

 

Shiro and Keith don’t get to talk much after that. Days after the battle with Lotor and the Paladins, the Blade of Marmora and the Alteans have begun to make preparations to sign a peace agreement. The Blade of Marmora isn’t the only organization, or nation, Shiro isn’t sure what to consider them, to jump on the chance to create diplomatic relations with the Alteans. From around the universe, a variety of rulers and soldiers come, seeking a truce and trade agreements from the Alteans. 

 

Abandoning her armor for more formal attire, Allura dons her dress consisting of various shades of blue. Allura impatiently waits for directions, tapping her toes against the metal floor of the castle-ship. Her tappings go unnoticed by most. Lance is too busy gazing out the window, Hunk is eating, well, playing, with a plate of food goo, Pidge is tinkering with Matt’s arm and Keith… Keith is tapping his foot along with Allura, seeming just as nervous as her. 

 

“You know,” Keith says, after a few minutes of nervous foot tapping, “you don’t have to hold your diplomatic talks here. You could do them at the base… The base is very secure. I should know because we’ve spent months making it so not even a bug could wiggle its way in.” 

 

With a sad gaze, Allura says, “I’m sure the last person your people would want on their base is me.” With a brief pause, she adds, “I know you wouldn’t let anyone hurt me but I think… I think it’s far too soon for me to pay your people a visit.”

 

At her words, Keith makes a face. His expression seems to say,  _ “I hate to say this, but you’re right.”  _ Giving Allura an awkward, but nonetheless comforting, pat on the back, Keith clears his throat. 

 

The sound, which sounds oddly like a cat coughing up a hairball, gains the attention of everyone in the room. “Due to the large number of people that wish to speak with the Princess today, there will be meetings throughout the day. My people and our allies are doing our best to restrict the visitors to small groups. Despite our actions, and since we’re floating in space instead of resting on a planet, people will slip through. Your job will be to guide those who slip through to one of the ships nearby that are serving as waiting rooms. If anyone that slips through becomes violent, please apprehend them. Violence can be used to subdue violence, but it should be avoided.” The Paladins listen to Keith with unwavering focus. No jokes are made, and their expressions are somber. Shiro isn’t sure if he finds their rapid increase in maturity impressive or disturbing. “For any further guidance, look to Shiro. I will be staying with Allura as her guard.”

 

Upon uttering words of acknowledgement, they split up.vHunk and Pidge defend the outside while Lance and Shiro defend the inside. Well, Lance, Shiro  _ and  _ Matt. Although not officially a paladin, Matt offers to stay with them as a stand-in tech expert and Green paladin. “Or perhaps I should say Red paladin, since I was fused with Red for a while…” Matt notes, before using his arm to scan the hallway behind them. Even though there’s just an empty, silent hallway, Matt’s arm beeps. 

 

“What does the beep mean?” Lance asks, his brows furrowed in confusion. “We’ve barely started to patrol and there’s nothing to see behind us. There’s no way anyone has sneaked on yet! The first group of diplomats hasn’t even arrived.”

 

“I’m not sure,” Matt admits, “the scanner is suppose to detect life. Either something is wrong with the scanner, or something spooky is going on.”

 

Shiro can’t help but laugh at Matt’s use of “spooky.” Narrowing his eyes at the hallway behind them, Shiro attempts to detect even the slightest of irregularities. Has something been moved? Are there footprints? Just as Shiro opens his mouth to speak he hears it… The creaking of the roof above him. Before Shiro can suggest they apprehend whoever is in the ceiling, the mysterious figure drop down, landing just a few feet in front of them.

 

To their surprise, they find themselves face to face with Keith. “Cat-man!” Matt shrieks, “Aren’t you supposed to be with Allura? Why are you here?”

 

“I’ll explain on the way,” Keith says, dashing down the hallway without waiting for a response. Exchanging skeptical glances, Lance, Shiro and Matt hurry after Keith. 

 

“Sendak,” Keith pants, not bothering to slow his speed as he talks, “managed to slip past me. I had left to talk to Antok earlier this morning, and when I came back he ambushed me. He knocked me out and by the time I woke up he was gone. I managed to get in, even though he used every damn defense mechanism to stop me. We’ll have to act fast if we want to have a chance of stopping him. Once he realizes we’re onto him, he’ll might put the hallway defense systems into action.”

 

“I think I understand what’s going on,” Matt replies, “Sendak snuck on with you before patrols started by pretending to be you,” with a hint of admiration, Matt adds, “what a sneaky bastard.” 

 

“What the hell is Sendak doing here? Doesn’t he know the war is over? Also, how can he pretend to be you? Galra don’t have shapeshifting abilities,” Shiro says, feeling extremely confused.

 

“Our Sendak is Altean,” Keith explains, “Although not as well known as many of his fellow generals, he’s the most dangerous. He’s infamous for either going in with guns blazing or sneaking in. In other words, his skills are extreme violence and extreme stealth.” Keith lowers his voice as they round a corner. “I sent one of my own generals, Thace, to go undercover and keep an eye on him. His orders were to go along with Sendak’s actions unless intervention was deemed crucial. It seems as though Thace didn’t deem this situation crucial, got separated from Sendak, or was discovered as being a spy.”

 

“So that leaves us to stop him,” Lance says, sounding both excited and scared. 

 

“I hope we can get there before he hurts the princess,” Shiro says. “Assuming that’s what he wants to do. Is there any reason why he’d want to hurt his ruler?”

 

Keith’s response is quick and to the point. “Killing her would make the war continue. All Sendak has ever known is war… It’s an environment he thrives in. With his true ruler, Lotor, gone, he has nothing to lose but this war… But his sense of purpose. If Sendak kills Allura, he’ll make the war continue and gain control of Altea.”

 

“Now that we’ve clarified why he’s so important to stop,” Matt says, sounding impatient, “Can you tell me what the plan is, Cat-man? If we’re running to our deaths, I’d like to know what we’re working with. Most importantly, I’d like to know if we have a chance of surviving.” 

 

Keith, impressively, rolls his eyes while running. “I want you and Lance to go to the bridge. Hack into the castle and get the defense systems down so Pidge and Hunk can get back in. Once they’re in, put the systems back up. We don’t want anymore visitors sneaking in while we’re fighting Sendak. Shiro and I will try to stop Sendak. Or, at the very least, buy time for you to get them in and meet up with us.” With a brief pause, Keith adds, “Stop calling me Cat-man or I’ll call you Matt Bolt.”

 

“Matt Bolt,” Matt tests out the name. Although his robotic face can’t smile, Shiro has a feeling that he would if he could. “It has a nice ring to it… It kinda sounds like a superhero name.”

 

His words earn him another eyeroll from Keith but laughs from Lance and Shiro. A few minutes later, when they go their separate ways, Keith emits a quiet laugh as Matt enthusiastically screams “Matt Bolt to the rescue!” 

 

Just a few short minutes later, Keith and Shiro reach the hall that Allura had planned to conduct her meetings in. With them both favoring strength over stealth, they waste no time kicking the door open. 


	19. Chapter 19

19

 

“What’s with you Alteans and morphing into other people?” Keith shouts, as their hasty and loud entry into the room gains him a quick look at his clone. Or rather, a quick look at Sendak. With a look of realization flashing across her face, Allura slowly backs away from Sendak. Her actions go unnoticed by Sendak, with him focusing his gaze and laughter at Keith. Keith glares at Sendak with his Galra ears pressed flat against his skull. “Can’t you fight as the real you? Can’t you fight like a true warrior?” 

 

Sendak chuckles, sounding genuinely amused. “You Galra define ‘warrior’ in such a strange, unrealistic way.” Slowly walking over to them, Sendak morphs. The process is gruesome to watch… With Sendak not only having to change his general appearance but size. 

 

This Sendak, although Altean, is just as large and intimidating as his Galra counterpart. He also has his signature, glowing arm and missing eye. By the end of it all… By the end of the horrifying process that makes even Sendak wince, he’s standing just a meter away from Shiro and Keith. “A real warrior does whatever he must to win. Whether those methods are honorable or not is another story.” 

 

Shiro doesn’t mean to let his gaze wander, but he can’t help but notice Allura move in the background. Although initially surprised, she is no longer shocked. Instead, she approaches them with silent footsteps and… Shiro can hardly believe his eyes, Allura has a sword at the ready? Since when has Allura fought with a sword? He thought she fought with a staff…

 

Shiro isn’t the only one to notice this. Keith’s gaze wanders, joining Shiro’s as his eyes land on Allura. It’s isn’t until Shiro’s eyes land on a familiar symbol that a jolt of realization passes through him. That’s not Allura… That’s a member of the Blade of Marmora. 

 

Sendak is slow to notice the shift in their gaze. Due to this, he turns back in time to find himself staring at the tip of a sword. “I should’ve known,” Sendak snarls, looking both pissed and disappointed. “There’s no way a halfling like you could ever be loyal to the Altean army. You’re trash, Thace.”

 

Thace snarls right back at him. “I’m not ashamed of my heritage. Although, you should be. Your family is infamous for killing innocent creatures, especially ‘halflings’ like me.” With his chest heaving in anticipation, he adds, “do you have any last words?”

 

As Thace waits for Sendak to reply, he morphs into his true self - His true self that has violet skin, pointed ears and  _ Wolverine _ like hair. He looks human if the skin color, ears and glowing yellow eyes are set aside. Just as Sendak opens his mouth to speak, Shiro’s comm crackles. 

 

“Hey, this is Matt. I just got a message from Ulaz. He’s got the princess in her room and is keeping her safe. Hunk and Pidge have detected a small fleet of Altean ships that are, assumably, against the treaty and are moving to intercept them. Lance left to help them out. Pidge assured me that the three of them would be enough. So all you gotta do is stop Sendak. I’ll make sure no one gets onboard until they get back.” Matt says more, but Shiro can’t hear him, the sound of metal clashing ringing within his ears. Somehow, Sendak has wiggled his way from beneath Thace’s sword. Somehow, in a matter of seconds, he has thrown Keith into a nearby wall, and knocked Thace off his feet. 

 

With a ferocious shout, Shiro launches himself at Sendak, a glowing hand curled into a fist. Sendak smirks, and closes his hand around the fist. With a sharp pull, Sendak drags him and throws him into a wall. Shiro crashes into the wall with a loud bang. To his horror, he misses crashing into Keith by mere inches. Despite that horror, Shiro finds himself smirking. Although not knocking Sendak off his feet, he has burned a fist sized hole into Sendak’s metal hand.

 

Sendak scowls at the hole, momentarily dropping his guard. This gives Thace, who just got back into his feet, a chance to jog over to him. For Keith, this gives him more time to rise. His collision with the wall, due to his light armor had been significantly more painful than Shiro’s. Quick to hear Thace’s approaching footsteps, Sendak turns in time to block a blow to a head that would have been fatal. 

 

Shiro, who gets to his feet before Keith, throws the two one last look before helping Keith up. “How are you feeling?”

 

“I’ve felt better,” Keith admits. “I’ll live, but Thace won’t if we don’t help him.” Shaking his arms and legs to regain the feeling - to ground himself, Keith adds, “Don’t worry about me. Worry about Sendak.” As he speaks, he flashes Shiro a small, reassuring smile. 

 

Clash after clash forces Shiro and Keith to shift their focus to Sendak and Thace. The two of them, although gasping for air, swing at each other with inhuman levels of force. The wind of their missed blows is enough to knock a nearby chair over. 

 

Shiro is the first to jump into the fray, digging his metal arm into Sendak’s own. The sound of metal scraping against metal is painfully high pitched, and similar to that of nails on a chalk board. His scratches, although superficial, make everyone wince, especially the aliens in the room due to their excellent hearing. 

 

“Surrender,” Shiro growls, as Sendak takes a minute to rub his ears and recover from the high pitched sound. “Or I’ll… I’ll…”

 

“Or you’ll what, puny human?” Sendak sneers, the expression on his face a twisted mix of anger and pain. “What could you possibly do to me?”

 

“He could kill you,” Keith says, his gaze as sharp as the sword he is wielding. “Or at the very least, cut that fancy arm of yours off. But he won’t.  _ I’ll do it. _ ” Before Shiro can stop him, before Thace can make a move of his own, Keith launches himself at Sendak. 

 

When he lands on Sendak he lands hard, knocking the large man over. Once the man is on the ground, he emits a cry. The sound reminds Shiro all too much of his days in the arena. Somehow making his sword glow at the last second, Keith slices about halfway through the metal joint connecting Sendak’s glowing arm to his shoulder when he utters a final warning. “Surrender now-” Before Keith can finish his sentence, Sendak uses his flesh arm to throw Keith off of him. Whether it is due to the weariness of all of the fighting or the pain in his joint, Sendak isn’t able to throw Keith far. 

 

“I’ll never surrender!” Sendak shouts. “For me, it’s victory or death.”

 

Before Keith or Shiro can react, Thace does. “Sendak is my assignment, not yours. Let me handle this. You have better and more important things to do than kill Sendak.” 

 

Keith’s automatic reaction is to argue with him. Although Shiro knows he has a right to argue, he interrupts him. “I think we should let him handle this, Keith.” Shiro could explain further - give Keith a reason to listen to him - but doesn’t. Instead, he just looks into Keith’s eyes and smiles.  _ Do what you think is best.  _

 

“Fine,” Keith huffs, a look of distaste upon his face. “Do what you must, Thace. Vrepit sa.” 

 

The last thing they hear before they exit the room is a loud but somber “Vrepit sa.” 


	20. Chapter 20

20 

 

The hallways are silent, except for Keith’s heavy breathing. Hoping to fill the silence and to calm his rapidly beating heart, Shiro speaks. “So… Do you think you broke something? Or do you just feel banged up?” Keith currently has an arm slung across Shiro’s shoulders. It’s a position Shiro is familiar with. He exprienced a similar position when helping his Keith recover from the trials of the Blade of Marmora. 

 

“To be honest, I have no idea,” Keith replies, using his free hand to rub his stomach. “All I know is that I’m sore. That damn Sendak threw me like I was a sack of potatoes. If it weren’t for the fact he wanted to kill me, I’d find it impressive.” Keith manages to chuckle, but not without wincing in the process. Once his chuckle fades, he adds, “You’ve got bigger things to worry about than me. You should check on the princess. You should make sure the diplomatic talks still happen.” 

 

“Those are important things,” Shiro replies, unable to deny the validity of Keith’s words. “However I’m sure the others have it handled. Or, at least, can keep it covered until I’ve put you in a pod.” Blatantly ignoring Keith’s protests, Shiro continues to help him down the hallway and to the med bay.

 

Although tempted to immediately shove Keith into a pod upon entering the med bay, Shiro guides him to a chair. “Do you know if it’s a requirement to put you into one of the white pod suits, or can I just put you in the way you are now?” Shiro asks. With his Allura having only given him a quick run down on the pods, he can’t recall the proper procedures. 

 

“I think,” Keith says, fiddling with the sleeve of his suit, “I think it’s more of a recommendation… Or something you’d do in an ideal situation. However, I am extremely sore and am in no mood to change clothes. Just put me in. Worse comes the worst I ruin my suit. There’s plenty more of these suits back at the base.” 

 

Shiro can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I noticed. Don’t you guys ever mix it up? Wear something in a different color, maybe?” With his laugh subsiding, he continues, “Now that this war has come to an end, you can wear your paladin armor once again. Or you could have Pidge and Matt design new armor… Armor that brings back fewer memories.” 

 

Now it’s Keith’s turn to laugh. “You went from focusing on getting me to a pod to talking about suits and armor. Did you forget your first mission? You know, to get me into a pod as soon as possible?” 

 

“No,” Shiro sputters, unsure of how to respond to him. “I just thought… I wasn’t sure if…” Keith laughs once again. 

 

“I’m just teasing you,” Keith says, “as much as I’d love to tease you more, I could really use to get into the pod.” Placing his arms close to his sides, he patiently waits for Shiro to move him… To lift him those few inches between the chair and the pod.

 

Shiro travels that distance all too fast for Keith’s liking. Keith manages to say, “See you around, Shiro,” before the pod door closes with a hiss. For a few seconds, Keith is able to gaze at Shiro’s face… His face that wears a weary and otherwise unreadable expression. Despite wanting to look longer, the pod lulls him to sleep. 

 

Before Shiro has a chance to leave, or even turn around, the doors behind him whoosh open. The clanking of metal against metal indicates that it’s Matt. “I’m not sure what to say, to be honest,” Matt says, placing one cold hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “That was a tough situation, your fight with Sendak. Then again, this whole universe seems to be one never ending tough situation.”

 

"You've got that right," Shiro replies, and upon noticing how still Matt is, he adds, "and before you even think about it, do not, literally say it again." Shiro likes to think that if Matt could still sigh, he'd emit one right now.

 

"You never let me have any fun," Matt whines, all the while shaking Shiro's shoulder. Unaware of the strength of his new body, Matt nearly shakes Shiro right over. At this, Matt’s whine morphs into a laugh.

 

"That's it, laugh at me," Shiro says, with a mildly annoyed huff. "Laugh when we should be focusing - When we should be completing our mission. You know, the mission to keep Allura safe and to make sure these diplomatic meetings go smoothly. Which they haven't so far, thanks to Sendak. Just how many more problems do you think we'll encounter? How many more evil Alteans will morph into our loved ones and mess with our brains? It gets really annoying, really fast." Shiro doesn't mean to take his tiredness and frustration out on Matt, but he does. Luckily, Matt rolls with it and knows just how to respond.

 

"Like I said earlier, this is a tough situation," Matt says, no longer shaking or even touching Shiro's shoulder. "But we'll work through it, one step at a time. I got word from Pidge and Hunk. They're just about done with that meddlesome fleet of Sendak's. They started to have trouble but, luckily, some help showed up. Strange help, but help nonetheless. They mentioned something about bounty hunters?" Matt speaks rapidly, hardly giving Shiro time to process one thing before moving onto the next. "Anyway, Lance and I have the castle under control. I used the cameras to check on Allura and she's all safe. I then used the castle intercom system to communicate with her. We have made arrangements to start the diplomatic meetings within the hour. Within that same hour Keith  _ should _ be healed, Thace should have Sendak... Uhhh... Taken care of? I suppose the only thing for you to do in the meantime is to give Hunk and Pidge a break by switching who does patrols in the lions, or relax. It's your choice. You're the boss around here."

 

Shiro finds himself saying, "I am?"

 

His words make Matt laugh louder than he had when he nearly knocked Shiro over. "Of course you are! Well, both Keith and you are... And the Princess is as well. Although her power is currently limited due to the whole 'I accidentally killed a bunch of innocent people because my cousin was using me as a puppet' sort of thing." When Shiro gives him a dark, dark look, Matt adds, "I suppose that crude description was done a bit too soon... Sorry about that. On that note, I think I'll just go..."

 

Matt turns to leave, but Shiro stops him by gently grabbing a hold of his elbow. "I'm not the only one on this ship that could use a break. Just look at you! I doubt your soul was transferred into this body that long ago. You need to be careful. Although your body is a high tech machine, your soul isn't. It's okay to feel emotionally drained... It's okay to feel out of place. It's okay to feel just about anything. Afterall, I don't know what I'd feel if I was in your situation."

 

Matt raises one of his arms and slowly curls and uncurls his hand, watching the little hinges hard at work. "This is going to take some adjusting, I'll admit that. But this is a lot different and arguably better than all of the time I was in Red. After all, I'm not mixed with someone else now. After all, now I almost look human." With a brief pause, Matt adds, "In all honesty, I think I'm still in shock. Not just shock about being put into this body, but no longer having a human body... About feeling less, not having to eat, and rarely having to sleep. To be a mix of human and machine, with most of it being machine... I don't know how to describe it."

 

Shiro finds himself moving... Finds himself pulling Matt closer and giving him a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Matt. Things will get better. That is, they will if we could have less fighting and more talking. Do you think these talks will end the violence?"

 

"I don't think they'll end the violence," Matt says, keeping his answers short and simple. "But they should discourage violence at the least." Giving Matt one last squeeze, he lets go. Shiro merely watches his friend leave the med bay.

 

Turning to face Keith's pod once again, he walks over to it and rests his human hand against the glass. "What do you think, Keith?" Shiro asks, despite knowing that he can't answer. "Will any of this accomplish anything?" 

 

Too frazzled to stay in one place for a long period of time, Shiro decides to wander. 

 

Shiro wanders out of the med bay, into the hallway and into a room that he is vaguely familiar with. It is a great chamber that his Allura would enter teary eyed and exit with a small smile. It is a treasure trove of information that can be accessed upon pushing the right button or asking the right ghost. 

 

Well, not so much a ghost but a copy of a person’s memories. Or perhaps it is a digital recreation of a person? 

 

Shiro can recall Allura trying to explain it to him. Her various efforts only confused him. “Think of him as an interactive video,” she had said. Shiro had merely grunted at this. Just what kind of interactive video is shaped like a person and is able to hold conversations with you? Shiro has a feeling that he’ll never know what to call the Alfor, yet not the real Alfor he had seen.

 

Tapping one of his hands against the console, Shiro continues to tap it until the surface starts to glow a soft blue. He can’t help but wonder if Alfor’s consciousness is on this ship. And if it was, had he been corrupted like the one in his own universe?


	21. Chapter 21

21

 

The soft blue light spreads from the console to the floor. It flows like water, falling and spreading rapidly. However, unlike water, it crawls up the walls and covers the ceiling. Once the room is completely covered, the light fades, replacing it with imagery of a peaceful meadow. 

 

First taking a minute to admire the lifelike flowers, Shiro wanders. He can’t help but find it strange that no one appeared right away. What is Alfor, or whoever it is, waiting for?

 

Shiro gets his answer sooner rather than later when two figures fall from the sky in a twisted, shouting mess. They’re too busy punching and kicking each other to notice him. It is only when they land on the ground that Shiro is able to recognize each figure. 

 

Coran, who is currently pinned under Lotor is clad only in the brightest of whites and the softest of blues. Lotor is the opposite of him, clad in the darkest shades of black and purple. The shades are so dark that Shiro can hardly tell that two different colors were used. 

 

Unsure how or even if he should intervene, Shiro settles for merely trying to get their attention. “Hey! Can you see me?”

 

They whip their heads in his direction, practically in sync. Coran, who has never met him in this reality, gazes at him with a puzzled expression. Lotor, on the other hand… “Shiro,” he purrs, reminding Shiro all too well of a lion stalking its prey. “Fancy meeting you here.” When Shiro responds to his words with a glare, his confident expression fades. “Was killing me once not enough? Are you here to kill me again - to take what little I have left?”

 

“He’s trying to take control of the castle,” Coran explains, earning himself a slap in the face from Lotor. The slap, although loud, doesn’t faze him. “If he gets…” Coran tries to add, just as Lotor wraps his hands around his neck. 

 

Closing the distance between them, Shiro lashes out with his metal arm. Lotor doesn’t attempt to dodge and Shiro doesn’t miss. Yet, Lotor doesn’t react to his blow - his blow has no effect at all. Shiro’s arm passes through him, like a ghost would pass through a wall. Coran, who is able to see Shiro over Lotor’s right shoulder, manages to croak out a hint. “Console.”

 

Shiro, dashes back to the console, Shiro pushes random buttons. This random button pushing results in angry red error screens and beeps of protest. Giving Coran and Lotor a glance, he can’t help but notice that Coran’s face is turning red and Lotor is smiling more. He’s running out of time. With a frustrated growl, Shiro turns his attention back to the console. There has to be a solution! There has to be something he’s overlooking... 

 

Shiro places both hands on the console and closes his eyes. This console, with its small size put aside, is similar to the one on the bridge. It has many of the same buttons and compartments. With a jolt of realization running down his spine, Shiro crouches and runs his hands along the sides of the console. There has to be a drawer… At least one small drawer. 

 

Shiro finds said drawer at the bottom of the console.  

 

Sparks fly as Shiro pulls the drawer out with one swift tug. With the drawer out of the way, Shiro is able to see the inside of the console. Nestled within the center are Balmeran crystals of various colors. Unable to see all of the crystals through the small opening the drawer created, Shiro pulls them at random. He can only hope that the one he pulls, or the next one,  _ or the one after that _ , will be the right one. 

 

Each crystal he touches sends a tingle up his arm. He wasn’t expecting the crystals to affect him, or his metal arm. With his brows furrowed in confusion, he reaches for another crystal…

 

Lotor emits an ear piercing scream just as a painful jolt jumps up Shiro’s arm, making his body shake and head swim. Pulling his arm out of the console as fast as possible, Shiro attempts to drop the crystal in his ever growing pile. The crystal fights him, burying itself in the palm of his hand. With his scream joining Lotor’s, Shiro’s vision continues to distort until it fades… Until it is replaced with black. His vision doesn’t stay black for long. 

 

_ “Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Prince Lotor,” Coran whispers, pulling his hood lower. They sit on wooden crates behind a fruit stand. With an old lamp dimly lighting their meeting space, and half filled bottles in their hands, they appear to be two drunks. “I have heard that you and your mother are trying to convince your father to agree to the terms of our treaty. Normally such news would fill me with joy, but currently it only fills me with worry. This war has changed my king. He has become easy to irritate, throwing objects at servants he would normally forgive for their mistakes. He has even snapped at me, his Royal Advisor, on numerous occasions!” Realizing he is getting a bit off topic, Coran clears his throat before continuing. “He has become greedy, selfish and… And many more just as negative things. He needs help. I’m sure one of your druids could heal him with ease. Please help me. Please help my kingdom. Please.”  _

 

_ Wordlessly, Lotor rises from his crate. His expression and actions are hidden by his cloak. Standing behind Coran, he places a comforting hand on Coran’s shoulder. Quickly shifting the position of his hand and adding his other, he soon has his hands wrapped around Coran’s throat. “Why help you when I can help myself?” Lotor asks as Corans gasps for air.  _

 

_ Once Coran is no longer breathing, Lotor returns to his crate. With a heavy sigh, he takes a swig from the bottle he had pocketed before killing Coran. “My father deemed himself a defender of the universe. Unable to part with his beloved ship, he often brought my mother and I with him. Despite bringing us he would forget us. He would give the universe more attention than his own family,” throwing the deceased Coran a quick glance, he continues, “He still does so. He treasures his ideas of right and wrong... He treasures the people he rules more than his own family.” _

 

_ Chugging what little is left in the bottle, he tosses it aside before continuing. “He’s a hypocrite. He claims to disapprove of violence, yet praises skilled warriors. He gives them medals and treats them as if they were his own children.” With annoyed huff, he adds, “Or perhaps more accurately, treats them better than his own child. His own child, who he has forgotten.” _

 

_ Lowering his cloak, his body twists and turns for a few minutes. His body only stops moving, only stops changing, when he resembles Coran. “I’ll give him a reason to remember me. I’ll end this war but start another one.” Lotor draws Zarkon’s face in the ground by his feet. “Say goodbye to your precious universe and hello to your son.”   _


	22. Chapter 22

22

 

Shiro’s vision returns to normal almost as quickly as it changed. The first thing he sees is a shattered, sickly green crystal. With his arm faintly tingling, he drops the shards. Grabbing a hold of the console, Shiro pulls himself to his feet. This is easier said than done, with his aching body screaming in protest. Due to his fight with Sendak and the hologram Lotor, he feels battered and weak. This paired with the shock from the ship’s wires make him want to collapse into the nearest cryopod.

 

“You have done me, those on this ship and the whole universe a great service,” Coran says. Now no longer pinned under Lotor, he stands tall, with a smile on his face. It is a bright, genuine smile that reminds him of the Coran he knows… Of the Coran he left behind. “I could never thank you enough.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me, Coran,” Shiro replies, finding himself with a smile that matches Coran’s. “Although, there is something that you could do to help me…” Shiro does his best to sum up where he is from, what has happened since he has been in this reality and what he needs help with. Coran, due to being a hologram instead of living being, is able to process it all at an impressive speed. 

 

“I just might have the information you need, my dear boy,” Coran says, his pupils rapidly bouncing from side to side. “I’ll just need some time to find it.” When Shiro doesn’t reply and remains standing, indicating that he is willing to wait, Coran adds, “you might want to sit down. I can move fast but not  _ that _ fast. In fact, you might want to walk yourself down to the med bay. You look a little banged up.”

 

Shiro can’t help but chuckle at the last part. “I feel banged up. I’ll head to the med bay but I won’t be gone for long. Do me a favor and tell Keith, the Red Paladin, the good news about Lotor if he wakes up before me.”

 

“I will. You have nothing to worry about. Now go get yourself healed up,” Coran says, his voice chipper as ever. Shiro leaves, missing the crystal shards by centimeters. 

 

The crystal lays on the ground, forgotten by both Shiro and Coran.“Thanks Coran,” is his brief reply. Gritting his teeth in preparation for the far from pleasant walk back to med bay, he exits, leaving Coran alone in his fake field of flowers. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

When Shiro finally enters the med bay, he’s relieved to find that Keith is still in his pod. It would be really frustrating to have Keith emerge from his pod just to have Shiro enter another. 

 

Much like Keith, he’s too tired and sore to change into the crypod suit. He can only hope that the lack of clothing change doesn’t ruin his clothes or somehow prevent his aching body from getting the pain relief it desperately needs. Shiro eases himself into the pod and closes his eyes. On top of needing healing, he could really go for a nap. The pod’s cool temperatures lulls him to sleep, but not for long. 

 

“You can run but you can’t hide,  _ Champion _ ,” an all too familiar voice sneers. When Shiro startles, the voice laughs. “You thought you got rid of me, but you didn’t. You were careless, Shiro.”

 

Although he won’t reveal himself, Shiro knows that Lotor is the one speaking to him. He’s the one that refuses to die. He’s clinging to the ship and to Shiro. He’s clinging to the two things he still has any effect on. “You should be gone,” Shiro replies. Although intending to snarl, his words come out shaky, the use of the nickname  _ Champion _ filling him with dread. “I killed you. I crushed your crystal.” Shiro is confused. His sleepy, slow mind can’t remember the details… Can’t detect any loopholes. “How are you still here?”

Lotor giggles, thoroughly amused by Shiro’s question. “You’re smarter than this,  _ Champion.  _ Can you truly not recall what you have failed to completely take care of?” Lotor’s once loud voice grows quiet and soft. It’s as though Lotor is preparing to whisper in his ear. 

 

“The shards, Shiro,” Lotor does indeed whisper. “You didn’t take care of the shards. But don’t you worry,” Lotor pauses and Shiro isn’t entirely sure why. Perhaps for dramatic effect? No matter the reason, it makes him nervous.  _ “The shards will take care of you.”  _

 

Before Shiro can ask him what he means, shooting pain explodes across his body. It’s as though a thousand needles are simultaneously digging into his skin. With a poorly muffled scream, Shiro opens his eyes. He’s awake but trapped, still within the confines of the cryopod. “How did it get into my arm? I dropped the crystal as soon as I could,” Shiro says, thinking out loud. He regrets it as he gets a mouthful of whatever substance the cryopod is filled with. 

 

Shiro winces at the slimy, sour taste. Waiting a few seconds to see if Lotor will dignify him with a reply, Shiro hits the emergency release button on the inside of the pod, and stumbles into the med bay. He manages keep himself upright, for the most part. However, a trip over a loose cable is enough to send him tumbling, on route to land face first on the floor. It is the work of a set of arms, arms that aren’t his own, that save him from landing face first on the floor. 

 

“Well hello to you too,” Keith jokes, as Shiro uses Keith to push himself up to a normal standing position. “I may not have been awake for long, but I’ve been awake long enough to know what happened. The hologram Coran filled in the details.” As he speaks, he gazes at Shiro’s face with a worried expression. “Hey, why are you worried? I’m the one that should be worried. You’re still supposed to be in the pod.”

 

“Lotor is still here,” Shiro says, keeping his answers short and to the point. “He spoke to me in the pod. He woke me up.” Just as Shiro utters that last phrase, he realizes he made a mistake. Lotor wouldn’t wake him up if it didn’t benefit him. What could benefit him more than Shiro leaving the pod, and becoming his vessel? “We have to findthe shard in my arm and do so fast! We have to find it before he-” Shiro doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before he finds himself grabbing Keith. 

 

His metal fingers wrap themselves around Keith’s neck, his arm glowing a green that matches that of Lotor’s memory crystal. Struggling to control his arm, Shiro attempts to uncurl his fingers to no avail. Keith, not expecting such an attack, claws at Shiro’s hand with wide eyes. Shiro joins him in clawing at his hand. His fingers don’t budge in the slightest.

 

Suddenly, Shiro gets an idea. “Keith, do you still have your knife on you?” Keith doesn’t bother trying to nod in confirmation. Instead, he hands Shiro his knife. With a determined cry, Shiro takes the knife and wedges it under the top plating of his arm. Pushing the knife as hard as he can, it comes off with a loud pop. 

 

He doesn’t feel relieved for long. Once he can see the inside of his arm he is shocked to find no signs of purple… No signs that his arm was once healthy. Unsure what to do, with his sudden plan having been to simply remove the shard, he clenches his teeth before acting… Before slashing every and any wire he sees.  

 


	23. Chapter 23

23 

 

Cutting through wires is harder than it looks, with Shiro’s hand aching by the time he’s done. It’s worth it though, because all of his slashing makes his arm go limp, releasing Keith from his death grasp. Closing the top panel of his arm to prevent any spillage, Shiro takes a few shaky breaths.

 

Keith does the same, rubbing his bruised throat. Before Shiro can utter an apology to him, Matt dashes into the room. “Sorry I’m late. The meetings just started so I was a little preoccupied. Are you two alright?” The best Keith and Shiro can manage are nods. “Coran just sent me the info that you requested, Shiro, along with info about what happened with Lotor. I’m going to go clean up what’s left of the crystal but I’ll be back. When I’m back I’ll…” Matt’s gaze shifts from their faces to Shiro’s arm. Although the expressions he can make as a robot are limited, his brief silence more than makes up for it. “I’ll see what I can do about your arm.” As soon as he finishes speaking, he exits

 

“Thank god for Matt,” Shiro says, breaking the silence they were thrust back into upon Matt’s departure. Shifting his gaze from the door to Keith, he adds, “I’m sorry, Keith. If I had remembered to take care of the crystal, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have hurt you… I really can’t apologize enough.” 

 

“Then stop apologizing,” Keith replies, voice cracking. “After all, it wasn’t you. Like before… Like with my mother’s death, it was Lotor’s fault. The only difference between that time and this one is that he didn’t just pretend to be you. Instead, he took control of your arm.” Before Shiro can reply, Keith starts crying. His sobs are quiet but nonetheless noticeable. “Why can’t he leave you alone? Why can’t he leave me alone?”

 

Shiro, who had given Keith space to recover from Lotor’s attack, closes the distance between them. “He’s almost gone,” Shiro says in a soft voice, “Matt’s gonna get rid of him and everything will be okay.” He says it in order to reassure Keith and himself. Lotor’s unrelenting persistence has shaken him, made him too nervous to trust his own eyes. 

 

“Matt is a smart, talented guy,” Shiro adds, when his words seem him have little effect on Keith’s mood. “He won’t let Lotor get away again. He’ll get rid of him for good. All we have to do is be patient and believe in him. Well, him and ourselves. By some off chance Lotor comes back again, we’ll fight him together. We’ll never let him win.” Slowly moving to give Keith a one armed hug, Shiro says, “I won’t let him hurt you again. I promise.” 

 

“Pinky swear,” Keith replies with an embarrassed smile. “I know it seems childish, but it would make me feel better.” He gazes at Shiro with big, hopeful eyes. Shiro can’t think of anyone who could resist such a look. 

 

Releasing Keith from his one armed hug, he wraps his pinky around Keith’s. Gazing into his eyes, he says, “I pinky swear that it will all work out and I won’t let Lotor hurt you again. While I’m at it, I will make sure no one, including myself, ever hurts you again,” Shiro 

 

“Does that mean you’ll say goodbye before you leave? Or if you leave… Are you going to stay, Shiro?” Keith asks, his voice shaking slightly. “Are you going to stay now that you know how to get home?”

 

Shiro feels torn. He knows what he’s expected to do. He knows what anyone in his situation would do. He knows he doesn’t technically belong here, yet Keith makes him feel as though he does. Keith may not been welcoming toward him at first, but he has warmed up, or rather, opened up to him and Shiro has done the same in return. Shiro wants to continue this, their close bond forged by a multitude of clashing memories and everyday situations. “I’m not sure,” Shiro admits, “I know what the rest of the team expects me to do, I know what I should do, I know what you want me to do and yet… I’m not sure what I want to do.” 

 

Keith takes advantage of the fact that their pinkies are still intertwined as he replies. “I promise you that the team will support whatever you decide to do. Or at the very least, I will. So use your head  _ and _ your heart. Give yourself time to decide.  You don’t have to decide in an instant. I asked you just now because I was just trying to make conversation while we wait for Matt to return.” 

 

Shiro isn’t sure what kind of response he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that one. “You’re right. I shouldn’t rush myself. Thanks, Keith.” Slowly shifting the position of their hands, Shiro makes it so they’re holding hands, not just intertwining pinkies. Before Shiro can say anything more, Keith interrupts him.

 

“I want to thank you,” Keith says, smiling at their hands, “Without you, things would’ve been a lot different. I would’ve tried to save the team less and fight them more. I would’ve hated them until I died.” With a deep breath, he adds, “I owe you a lot.” 

 

“I could say the same thing,” Shiro replies. Before he can go into detail, Matt bursts into the room. 

 

“Lotor is all taken care of!” He shouts upon his entrance, skidding to a stop in front of them. “I’ll spare you the details because it’s all technical jargon,” with his gaze narrowing in on their hands, he shrieks, “However, you two shouldn’t spare me any details. How long have you been dating? Who asked who out first?”

 

“I… Uh…” Shiro stammers, caught off guard by Matt’s questions. 

 

“We… Uh…” Keith says, trying to help Shiro out, but having the same difficulties as him. 

 

“Well,” Matt says with a laugh, “While you two figure out what you’re going to say, I’m going to make sure Lotor isn’t lingering in Shiro’s pod. I want to make sure he has no chances of coming back. After that we can talk while I work on Shiro’s arm.”

 

Matt steps away, leaving Shiro suddenly a lot more self-conscious of his infected, broken and useless mechanical arm.  

  
  



	24. Chapter 24

 

24  

 

Keith and Shiro stand in silence while they wait for Matt to finish examining Shiro’s pod. After experiencing relentless attacks from Lotor and having a serious conversation about their future, the two of them need a breather. The silence, although comforting for the most part, makes Shiro anxious. With no conversation to focus on, he finds his gaze wandering. Some of the places they wander are comforting, such as Keith’s smiling face. Other places, such as his broken arm, are anything but comforting.

 

His arm is a hideous sight. It hangs limp at his side, oozing green liquid from between the cracks of the top panel. A few sparks fly from those same cracks. Shiro’s stomach does somersaults as he gazes at it. He had been dreaming of the day he could rid himself of his monstrous arm, yet now that he has a chance - now that he has destroyed it with his own hand, he feels uneasy. He feels almost as horrible as his arm looks. Why does he feel this way? Why doesn’t he feel happy?

 

Shiro shifts his gaze back to Keith. Keith locks eyes with Shiro. His gazes soften at the connection.  _ Keith. That’s why.  _ The destruction and most likely replacement of his arm all came at the expense of Keith.

 

Matt, who had been running scans on Shiro’s pod, returns to them. “Don’t stop talking because of me,” he jokes, playfully elbowing Shiro’s side. When no one laughs, he shrugs it off. “Tough crowd. Even though you could use more pod time, I think we should wait on it. Your pod is going to take a while to fix and the other pods… I think it would be safer for everyone if I flushed the whole pod system first. Before I do that, I’d like to take a peek at your arm. We deal with pods later. I don’t think we’re in any immediate danger.”

 

Matt guides Shiro over to a bench. Once he’s seated, he says, “We’ll need to borrow a table or a desk.” Turning to Keith, he adds, “Perhaps you can nab one from one of the bedrooms?” Keith nods a confirmation and jogs out of the room, getting the requested item.

 

“Is it safe for you to work on me?” Shiro asks, while Matt gently turns his arm, seeming intent on studying it from various angles. “Couldn’t you get infected? You shouldn’t put yourself at risk just to help me, Matt.” 

 

“I wish I could lie to you and tell you that everything will be okay,” Matt replies, his voice solemn. “But I can’t. There is immense risk in it for me, since I’m mostly machine and very easy to control. However, there’s no one more qualified to help you. Except Pidge but there’s no way I’m letting them do this. They’ve gone through enough.” Shiro is tempted to argue, to remind Matt that he’s been through a lot as well, but he bites his tongue. He understands the feeling of wanting to protect a loved one. 

 

Before either one of them can say more, Keith enters, carrying a desk. “Lance’s room is nearby,” Keith explains, when his quick return is met with confused, but also impressed, looks. “That’s why I was able to get it so quickly.” Gently placing it beside Matt, he joins Shiro on the bench. “So what are you thinking, Matt? Are you gonna be able to fix it?”

 

“Just as I was telling Shiro,” Matt replies, helping Shiro rest his arm on the table. “I can’t lie to you. Which sadly, in this case, means I can’t be overly optimistic. So far,” opening the top panel, he begins to gently poke and prod Shiro’s arm, “it is unlikely I will be able to fix it. The damage, both from the infection and the cutting is widespread and serious. Until I study it more, I think that it’s best for Shiro to take the arm off.”

 

_ He’s losing an arm all over again.  _

 

Seeming to sense his thoughts, Keith says, “I’m sure Matt can give you some sort of prototype until we get this arm thing figured out.” With a brief pause, he adds, “I’m sure your arm could use a break anyway. When was the last time you took your prosthetic off?”

 

Unable to remember the last time he took it off, he chooses not to answer Keith’s question. “Fine. Take it off. But I want to put the prototype on sooner than later. With one arm, I feel…” He pauses to take a deep breath. “I feel weak… I feel useless with only one arm.” 

 

“I can assure you that you’re anything but,” Keith says, reaching for Shiro’s hand. “Having two arms is great, but it doesn’t define you. You’re great by yourself. You’re an intelligent, determined, kind and overall wonderful man. We couldn’t have gotten this far without you.  _ I  _ couldn’t have gotten this far with you. You, well, the other you helped me understand the human part of me. That Shiro taught me about human culture and language. As for this Shiro,” Keith gives his hand a light squeeze, “You’ve opened my mind. You’ve helped me see the truth. You’ve taught me to hate less and love more.” 

 

“I agree with Keith,” Matt chirps, “you’re a lot more than your body, Shiro. Although, having a nice face does add to your heroic charm.” His words earn him an appreciative laugh from Shiro. “Will you let me take your arm off at the count of three?” Shiro nods and grips Keith’s hand a little tighter. “1… 2… 3… Off.”

 

Shiro’s stump is sore and red, but lacks blisters. 

 

“No blisters, that’s good,” Matt notes, earning himself a muttering of “thanks, Captain Obvious,” from Keith. If Matt hears it, he ignores it. “Let it breathe for a little while, then clean it and put some lotion on. If you feel the need to cover it up wrap some bandages around it. You might want to consider massaging it later.” 

 

“I know you’re smart,” Shiro replies, confused by Matt’s sudden medical knowledge, “but since when have you been a doctor?” 

 

“Since I downloaded some of the ship’s medical data,” is Matt’s quick reply. “It’s amazing what you can do when your body is an Altean training bot.” Matt wipes his hands on a nearby pod suit, leaving green smears on it, before continuing. “I’ll have to inspect this more later. I need to go back to monitoring those diplomatic meetings. I’m having Lance do it right now and as I much as I trust the guy, it’s a lot to do alone.” Motioning to the door, he adds, “Let’s skedaddle, I’ll lock the door behind us.” 

 

Shiro and Keith exit first, still holding hands. Matt is last, and to true to his word, he locks the med bay doors. After locking the doors, he uses both hands to rapidly type on the keypad. The keypad emits multiple, annoying beeps before ending with “Security program enabled.”

 

“You two, or the very least, Shiro, need to relax. We can handle this. We only have stubborn politicians left to deal with, ” Matt says turning to go left while Shiro and Keith turn to go right. Before they get far, Matt shouts, “Wait!” 

 

Spinning on their heels to face Matt, Shiro and Keith gaze at Matt with determined faces.  _ It’s as though they are bracing themselves for the worst. _ “It’s nothing bad,” Matt assures them, upon noticing their serious faces, “I just forgot to tell Keith something.” With a brief pause, Matt adds, “Thace has finished taking care of Sendak and has returned to the base. He was going to wait around for you, but I told him you wanted some space.”

 

“Good to know. Thanks for your help, Matt,” Keith says with a grateful smile. 

 

“Anytime,” Matt replies, giving them fingerguns. “See you two later.” 

 

“I know that he thinks I should relax, but I can’t see myself sitting still anytime soon,” Shiro says, once Matt’s outside of sight. “I’m thinking that we could go for a drive, and help you in the process. Well not a  _ drive _ . I said drive because it sounded better than ‘go for a flight...'” When Keith responds with a confused expression, he clarifies. “I thought we could go to the planet with the Anik flowers. You know, so we can get you back to your less furry and not purple self.”

 

Keith laughs. “Oh so that’s what you meant! Sounds like a plan.” Keith’s laughter fades and is replaced with a grin. 


	25. Chapter 25

 

25 

 

The flight to the home of the Anik flower isn’t a long one. Nonetheless, Shiro and Keith enjoy their time in the Black Lion with nothing but dazzling stars surrounding them. “I can’t believe I was right,” Keith says, as Shiro lands the Black Lion in an empty field. “My frenzied research in the data room paid off. The Anik flower really can revert me back to my old self.”

 

“Don’t forget that there are risks too,” Shiro replies, just as Black sinks her claws into the ground below them. She lays down for easier disembarking. “If you use too much nectar, it will enhance your Galra features instead of returning them to their human state.” Rising from his seat, Shiro is surprised to find that Keith has already disembarked. He jogs to catch up with him.

 

“You worry too much,” Keith says, when Shiro catches up to him. “The hologram Coran is going to help us make sure the right amount of nectar is used. All we have to do is collect a bunch of flowers so he and Matt can help us when we get back.”

 

“You’re right,” Shiro admits, meanwhile running his hand through the long, blue grass. “Have you seen any flowers yet? So far there seems only seems to be this sky blue grass. Well maybe I shouldn’t describe it as sky blue because the sky here is green, but you get my point.” 

 

Keith laughs, and it’s music to Shiro’s ears. “This planet is known to have a ton of Anik flowers. We just gotta keep walking until find some.”

 

“Sound easy enough,” Shiro says, reaching for one of Keith’s hands. Keith is quick to respond to his touch, intertwining their fingers. The two walk for a while longer, walking over a couple of small hills, before reaching a patch of flowers.

 

The Anik flowers look like flames. Consisting of shades of yellow, orange and red, they grow close to the ground, and it looks like the field is on fire. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Shiro exclaims, “these flowers are beautiful!” Keith merely hums in agreement. 

 

Slowly letting go of Keith’s hand, Shiro picks up one of the flowers. First twirling it between his index finger and thumb, he sniffs it. “It doesn’t smell like any flower I’ve come across, either.” With a brief pause, he adds, “it’s a nice smell.”

 

Keith gazes at the flower with wide, curious eyes. “Really? Can I smell?” Wordlessly, Shiro raises the flower so it’s just below Keith’s nose. Keith lightly sniffs, and smiles at the smell. “It does smell good.”

 

“It smells like apples, yet strawberries at the same time,” Shiro says. “Besides ‘good,’ what does it smell like to you?”

 

Keith hums for a moment, thinking. “There’s a fruit that you can grow indoors that’s popular at the base. It looks like an apple, with it being red and round. However I think it is probably more sour than an apple. It may taste more like the strawberries you mention. I can’t be sure because I’ve never had either…” An expression of sadness flashes across his face. “The fruit it reminds me of is called Riigo.”

 

“Riigo,” Shiro says, testing the name on his tongue. “Riigo sounds delicious. I’ll have to try it sometime. Just like you’ll have to try strawberries and apples sometime. And before you say anything, I think we could sneak our way onto Earth long enough for you to try some foods.”

 

There’s a beat of silence before Keith replies. The silence is refreshing, just like the gentle breeze that ruffles their hair. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” Before Shiro can reply, Keith takes the Anik flower from him. With a playful gleam in his eyes, Keith tucks the flower behind Shiro’s left ear.

 

Wordlessly, Shiro lets go of Keith’s hand in order to pick up another flower. He gently tucks it behind one of Keith’s fluffy Galra ears. With the flower no longer in hand, he goes back to holding Keith’s hand. 

 

“We can’t stand here forever” Keith says, his smile fading. “We’ve got picking to do. The faster we pick, the faster we can get back to the ship. The faster we get back to ship, the faster I can get back to normal.” With his free hand, Keith reaches up and touches the flower tucked behind his ear. “I don’t know how you do it, Shiro... How do you look past this, my literally inhuman appearance?”

 

“The trick is to not look past it,” Shiro replies in a soft voice. At this, Keith gives him a skeptical look. “I’m serious! When I look at you, I don’t try to trick myself into seeing, or  _ not _ seeing things. I just look at you with open eyes and an open heart.” Shiro gives Keith’s hand a gentle squeeze before continuing. “I’ll admit, it’s easier said than done. That doesn’t stop me from trying, though.”

 

“You’re amazing,” is Keith’s quiet, yet heartfelt response. 

 

“So are you,” Shiro whispers. 

 

Despite already being close, they manage to move even closer to each other. Shiro gently places his hand on Keith’s hip, while Keith uses a hand to cup his jaw. For a few minutes, they savor each other’s feather light touches. 

 

“I don’t want to pressure you,” Keith says, his face so close to Shiro’s that his breath is hot on his face, “but I have two requests for you. First, kiss me. Second, stay.” 

 

Before Shiro has a chance to respond, he finds himself fading, his body becoming light and translucent. He tightens his grip on Keith’s waist, but it doesn’t help. If anything, it makes it worse. Now he’s fading faster and being pulled backward.  _ He’s being pulled away from Keith.  _

 

“Shiro!” Keith cries, chasing after him. “Hang on, Shiro!” Keith struggles to close the ever growing distance between them. With an outstretched hand, Keith shouts, “You can do it, Shiro! You can stay. Just grab my hand.”

 

“I’m staying,” Shiro screams at the invisible force toying with him, “you can’t make me leave!” When this accomplishes nothing, he resorts to begging. “Please, let me stay. Please, let me be happy!” The last thing he sees before his vision turns to black is Keith’s tear-streaked face.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

One minute he is with Keith, and the next - he is floating in darkness. He’s floating amongst the stars.         

 


End file.
